Uncharted
by KB103
Summary: College is what shapes who we are as human beings. It's painful, hard, beautiful and fun. Follow the cast of Grey's as they try to wade through these murky waters, figuring out it's all Uncharted.
1. Freshman Year: Jump Start

Title: Uncharted  
>Author: KB103<br>Pairing: Callie/Arizona A/U  
>Rating: T (for now)<br>Summary: College is what shapes who we are as human beings. It's painful, hard, beautiful and fun. Follow the cast of Grey's as they try to wade through these murky waters, figuring out it's all Uncharted.  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's, that distinction is reserved for Shonda. No copyright infringement is intended by this story, just lots of smiles and giggles.<p>

A/N: Yeah...so I wasn't supposed to post this until Saturday, but once I started writing this afternoon, I couldn't stop. I'll say more about this fic at the bottom of the chapter. :)

Happy Reading,

~KB~

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><p>Freshman Year: Jump Start My Kaleidoscope heart<p>

Northfield, Minnesota. Small town USA and oh so different from what Arizona Robbins was used to. The town couldn't have been larger than 20,000 people and when she had grown up in a city of about 3 million, it felt even smaller. Arizona was relatively sure, however, that leaving DC after spending her previous time in Chicago was the best thing for her. At 18, Arizona had seen a lot of the world because of her father. When deciding on a college, that was not one of her concerns. Honestly, she just wanted to be out of Washington and away from the blinding spotlight always shining on her family.

Arizona was extremely happy for the Colonel, but after nearly two years of being scrutinized, Arizona just needed a break. So instead of attending some Ivy League school and have everyone staring at her, she opted to become Ari James and enroll at St. Olaf College, her mother's Alma Mater. Arizona had anguished over the change to her name. She loved her name, but it was unique. If she hadn't changed it to Ari, it would have been much too easy to identify her as Arizona Robbins, the only daughter of Colonel Daniel Robbins, President of the United States of America. She had left that part of her behind in favor of her education, and she wasn't regretting it for a second.

Her mother had spoken for years of St. Olaf, the school she loved so dearly, and for a while Arizona never thought she would actually apply to Olaf, let alone attend. For the majority of her life, Arizona always saw herself as being the type of person who would continue her studies at Harvard or Yale, but when the time came for her to decide on a school, she found herself turning in the opposite direction of those schools. She had been a robot for the better part of her young life, and she quickly determined that was not the path for her academic future. She wanted to think, to be challenged, to be surrounded by music, to grow as a person without the pressures of attending a school like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, or Brown pressing down on her shoulders.

Those thoughts and decisions had led Arizona to consider her mother's Alma matter. She even took a tour of the campus, without the company of her parents of course. The whole point of this was to escape any unnecessary attention. She had been lucky enough to have a father who did his best to keep his two children out of the media, so Arizona didn't have to worry about having a crowd of reporters around her at all times, especially when she was out of D.C. So, she had toured Olaf with her god mother Jen.

Jen had always been an important part of Arizona's life. She moved a couple of times while Arizona was a kid, but she never lived too close to the Robbins family, providing Arizona with the perfect escape hatch if she ever needed to get away. It was Jen that had taken Arizona to New York and Europe. Her parents were always so busy, but Jen's presence in Arizona's life helped ease their pain about not always being able to give her what she needed in any given moment.

Jen sat in the car next to Arizona as they approached Northfield, the Minnesota countryside whizzing by. A massive wind turbine loomed in the distance, easily visible over the cornfields lining the landscape. Jen steered the car through the quaint, downtown area and across the river. The car turned left onto St. Olaf Ave, and Arizona could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She remembered driving up this road just a few months prior for her visit on Scholars' Day. It was a whirlwind of interviews, panels, and information sessions, but Arizona ate it all up. It was during that visit she became absolutely certain that St. Olaf was the best place for her.

As Jen navigated the vehicle up the hill, Arizona's nerves turned into excitement. She'd received her roommate assignment last month, and contacted them, so that wasn't going to be a surprise. The process itself and the impending months, however, were nerve wracking. This marked the first time she would be truly away from her parents. It seemed even more daunting because she felt so removed. Going by her shortened first name and mother's maiden name made her feel like there was a wall beginning to form between her and the rest of her family.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Arizona smiled as Jen parked the SUV outside the door to Hoyme Hall, her new home for the year. Climbing out of the car, Arizona turned to face the building. Her hand rested on her hip as the other shaded her eyes, allowing the blonde to take in the full scope of her surroundings. Her musing, however, was almost immediately interrupted by a host of bouncy and energetic college students approaching her car. Don't get her wrong, Arizona could be bouncy, but this was an 'OMG I SORT OF WANT TO BE HERE BUT I'M GETTING PAID SO HERE'S MY SMILE. GET EXCITED' bouncy.

Completely overwhelmed, the blonde stepped out of the way as the mass of bouncy, happy people grabbed a few of her things and headed into the dorm. Arizona vaguely remembered mumbling her room number, but it was a blur. She followed them inside and went to the check-in table.

"Name?" a woman asked from behind the table.

"Ariz…" the blonde started before catching herself. She took a deep breath to regain her composure. "James," Arizona let out with a breath. "Ari James."

"Welcome to St. Olaf, Ari," the perky desk worker said, thrusting an envelope into Arizona's hands.

"Thanks," the blonde mumbled before turning to go up the stairs to her room. Unfortunately her room was located on the fourth floor, so she traipsed up the stairs, and scanned the hallway for her room. Surprisingly, her room was actually located just off the stairs. As she poked her head in, Arizona saw that the bouncy people already deposited the bulk of her stuff on the floor.

"There you are," Jen said, entering the room, carrying presumably the last of Arizona's things.

"Sorry," Arizona apologized, grabbing a pile of clothes from Jen's arms, "I had to check in downstairs."

"No worries," Jen replied. She set down the hamper, the last item from the trunk, and surveyed the room. "This is pretty big, Ari."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, it's because there are three of us here. "

"Do you need any help unpacking?" Jen asked.

Arizona shook her head. She really wanted to unpack alone; it was therapeutic for her, something she learned from her high school days at Exeter. "No I'm good. Could we get some lunch before you have to leave though?"

"Lunch sounds great."

* * *

><p>"Oh God," Meredith groaned as she woke up. Her head was pounding; she definitely drank too much alcohol last night. Looking around, she realized she was on the much too thin rug on her living room floor. "What the hell happened last night?" she asked to no one in particular. Looking down at her body, it dawned on Meredith that she was actually naked. "Shit," she cursed as she looked around for a blanket. A boy was passed out on the other side of the couch, and he had a blanket. In a rush¸ memories from last night came flooding back. She went to a party, and met this guy in a red shirt. From that point, it was all a bit of a blur; she barely remembered anything, except that he was very good in bed.<p>

Meredith picked up the blanket, wrapping it around herself before she dropped a pillow on him to cover his bare ass. He grunted, but she hoped he was still asleep. Meredith tried to slip by him unnoticed, but she cringed when he picked up her black bra, holding it up for her.

"This is…" he began groggily.

"Humiliating on so many levels," Meredith finished, grabbing the bra. "You have to go," she declared as she tiptoed to the stairs.

Sitting up, he smirked playfully. "Why don't you just come back down here and we'll pick up where we left off?"

"Seriously, you have to go," she said, throwing him some clothes. Meredith brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. "I'm late, which isn't what you want to be on your first day of college, so…"

The mystery guy stood and looked around the room. "So…uh…you actually live here," he commented awkwardly as he pulled on his

Meredith sighed. "Not exactly."

"Oh," he said, a little confused about the situation.

"Well," Meredith blurted, "yes I live here…sort of…ish. It was my mother's house."

"Oh," the man responded. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked, pulling the blanket tighter around her body.

"You said was…" he trailed off.

"Oh!" Meredith exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "My mother's not dead. She's…you know what? We don't have to do the thing."

"Oh," he replied, grabbing his shirt from the couch, "we can do anything you want."

"No the thing," she corrected, "exchange the details…pretend we care. Look, I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower ok? And when I get back, you won't be here. So…um…goodbye…"

"Derek," he supplied, realizing she didn't know his name.

"Derek," she repeated. "Right. Meredith," she said, extending her hand.

"Meredith," Derek said as he grasped her hand, stepping around the couch. "Nice meeting you."

Acutely aware of the close proximity of their bodies, Meredith began to back up. This guy, Derek, was really attractive, and being that close to him brought back the very good memories of last night. "Bye Derek," she said with a nervous giggle before dashing up the stairs to the comfort of the bathroom.

She shut the door to the room, and slid down to the door, puffing the hair from in front of her face with a sigh. Last night was a shit show. The tequila had been a bad idea, but it really wasn't her fault. This girl named Cristina pulled her into it. The girl was crazy, but she was Meredith's kind of crazy.

Pulling herself from the floor, Meredith went to the shower. She turned the nozzle, releasing the warm spray of water. Dropping the blanket, Meredith stepped into the shower. She allowed the droplets to caress her skin, rinsing away the fog from last night. She wanted to stay in the shower forever, but unfortunately she had to go "move in". Her stuff was already there, she practically grew up on the campus, so the whole orientation think didn't need to happen.

Her mother, Ellis Grey, graduated from St. Olaf in the seventies, going on to become a big time business woman. She was one of the college's largest donors, serving as the first female board of Regents. During that time, Meredith lived in Northfield with her mother, but six years ago, they moved out East to Boston, so her mother could take the Chair position at Harvard, her graduate Alma Mater. She never sold the Northfield house, though, so now that Meredith was about to become an Ole, it dropped back into her possession…sort of.

Meredith turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel, and stepped out of the shower. She needed to get up to campus soon. Thankfully, she moved in her furniture a couple of days ago, so she didn't have to lug all that shit up to her room, but she still had to go be nice, and deal with everyone's sappy bullshit of "letting their children go". ". She threw on some clothes, careful to avoid the colors of black and gold. Those were the school colors and she really didn't want to be the over eager freshman.

Grabbing a sweatshirt, Meredith left the house, the door slamming behind her. She started her trek up St. Olaf Avenue towards the college. The house was only a few blocks away from the base of "the hill", but it was continuously uphill, a fact she did not appreciate. She took out her phone, and typed a quick text to Cristina, the soccer player she met the night before.

_On my way up the hill with the hangover from hell. Want to sit together at the sappy family ceremony?_

Cristina felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out, seeing she'd received a text from Meredith, the girl from the party last night that was almost as crazy as she was. Smirking at the message, she quickly typed back her agreement. She was in the bookstore, getting a St. Olaf shot glass, which in hindsight was a terrible idea. The place was crawling with freshmen and their overzealous parents wanting to buy merchandise. Cristina recognized that she was a freshman as well, but soccer players moved into their dorms two weeks ago, so she'd already said goodbye to her mom and step-father.

She handed over the small amount of money for the shot glass before bolting from the store. Cristina had a thing for shot glasses, so she really wanted to buy an Olaf one. It was worth the three minutes spent in the suffocating throng of jabbering people. She found it quite ironic that a supposed "dry" campus sold shot glasses and mugs in their bookstore. The notion of an alcohol free campus itself should have sent Cristina running for the hills, but thankfully the soccer team didn't believe in such ridiculous rules. Half the boys team lived in an off campus house, which was where the party was last night.

Leaving the student center, Cristina began the short walk to her dorm, Kildahl. The names here were so weird. She remembered being told by the soccer coach that it had something to do with the Norwegian Lutheran roots of the place. Her mother thought she was being rash, running away to Minnesota to play soccer, but really she was just running away to Minnesota to hide from her mother…her very overbearing mother.

Growing up in Beverly Hills, California, Cristina was always at the mercy of her mother, especially after her father died when she was nine. Her mom was always around, trying to shape Cristina into this emotional, dress wearing, pink loving girl. Pink was not a good color on her, so when St. Olaf started recruiting her for soccer, Cristina jumped at the chance to relocated a healthy 2000 miles from her mother. Olaf was DIII, so she wasn't on scholarship, but the conference in which St. Olaf competed (the MIAC) was one of the best in the country at the DIII level. Besides she didn't need the money, and this small school in Minnesota had an awesome chemistry program. There was no way she was going to pass this up.

Cristina pulled open the door to her dorm, careful to dodge around the loving and doting parents. She headed down one floor to her room. As she entered, however, she quickly realized that her roommate had actually showed up, and she apparently brought a lot of stuff. Well, she brought a lot of clothes. Cristina stepped around the ever growing clothes pile to get to the safe haven underneath her lofted bed.

Cristina's roommate apparently didn't hear her come in because when she turned around, she jumped about three feet in the air. "Holy shit!" she panted, trying to catch her breath. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry," Cristina replied blandly.

"I'm um Callie Torres," the taller woman said, extending her hand.

"Cristina Yang," she replied, equally as bland as her apology. No sooner than the words left her mouth, her phone vibrated on the desk. After quickly reading the text, she hopped out from underneath her bed, and headed towards the door. "I'll see you around," she said lamely, offering a halfhearted smile before ducking out of the room completely.

"Bye?" Callie replied, questioning what exactly just happened. She hoped her roommate wasn't nearly as abrasive as she seemed. She was used to being around social people. Being raised in Miami really afforded her no other option than to be outgoing and relatively social. Sure, she went through her hair chewing phase, but for the better part of her high school career, Callie enjoyed life under the glamorous strobe lights of Miami.

Her family was perplexed as to why she wanted to go up to Minnesota for college when all the rest of her friends were staying in state, attending either the University of Florida, University of Miami, or Florida State. Her father, however, owned a very successful chain of hotels nationwide, and one of his lead investors was Michelle Sloan. Consequently, Michelle and her son Mark made appearances in Miami throughout Callie's childhood. Just a couple years older than her, Mark Sloan became one of her closest friends.

When he went to college at St. Olaf, she visited him a few times and fell in love with the place. After doing an official visit, she was invited for Scholars' Day. Those two days pretty much decided her college future for her. One of the major bonuses for Callie was the music program at Olaf. She loved singing; it was how she processed. There was nothing more beneficial for her sanity than retreating into her head through song. When she was singing, Callie felt at peace.

At larger universities, it was near impossible to be involved in music without being a major. Callie loved music, but being a major would suck away her soul, she feared. At St. Olaf, not only could she participate in choir, but she could also take lessons, all without tying herself to that specific course of study, something which also comforted her father. Carlos Torres was a business focused man. He built his fortune on the sweat of his brow. He was not the kind of man who supported following passions if those passions led to a mediocre salary and questionable employment for the rest of her life. He was extremely supportive of Callie, and only wanted what was best for her. That just didn't include a career in music; Callie understood that completely.

Looking around her tornado of a room, the brunette decided to take a break. Mark was already on campus because he was a junior counselor in Hoyme with his best friend Derek, so Callie decided to go see him before heading down to the probably dumb ceremony this afternoon. Locking the door behind her, Callie walked the short distance down the hall to the door. Hoyme was about a five minute walk, so she didn't bother getting out her ipod or anything. Observing the people as she walked was more fun anyway, especially on days like today when there were definitely tons of interesting people around.

By interesting, she meant ridiculously attractive, she thought as a few women walked by ahead of her. Callie had just recently discovered she was bisexual after she fell for one of her close friends in Miami by the name of Erica. Ironically, it was Mark who helped her realize she had feelings for Erica. Despite his unfortunate reputation, he was actually a good friend to Callie.

As she pulled open the door to Hoyme, a blonde woman, presumably Callie's age walked out of the building. Callie caught the door, holding it open as the other woman left, followed by an older redhead. The blonde turned around to face Callie, her blue eyes locking with the Latina's brown ones. "Thanks," she mumbled, her eyes remaining trained on Callie.

"You're welcome," the Latina replied, her mouth instantly becoming dry as she maintained their eye contact.

The blonde turned away, breaking the spell, leaving Callie there holding the door and staring like an idiot. With a smile she shook her head and entered the building.

Ridiculously attractive indeed.

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><p>AN2: Ok so this fic, is something I've been talking about for awhile. I'm really excited for it and it's for that reason, that I wanted to take the time and say something at the bottom here. I fully intend on going through all four years of college, giving the focus of the year with the first chapter of that year. So with Freshman year it's Jump Start My Kaleidoscope Heart. Each chapter in that year will have different titles. Hopefully that's not too confusing and you'll understand as it goes on. Basically...we're in freshman year until further notice.

All my best,

~KB~


	2. Faces in the Hall

A/N: Thanks for being a little patient with this. I'm heading into finals week, but I will definitely have an update for this and CMD at some point within the next week. I just want to thank all of you for your reviews, alerts, favorites, and views. I'm really excited for this fic, and I can tell you guys are as well. I'm sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews. My email is being shitty and messing with it, so I have to use PMs and it's basically been a shitshow. I know I did most of them, but I didn't know if I got all of them. And I apologize if I replied twice to some of you. Anyway….as always…

Happy Reading,

~KB~

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><p>Chapter 2: Faces in the Hall<p>

Callie took the stairs up to the third floor of Hoyme two at a time, dodging around the parents carrying futons, rugs, and other college necessities. Slipping by two parents hauling a couch down the hallway, she finally managed to end up outside Mark's door. After raising her fist to knock, she waited for a few seconds, hearing people shuffling around in the room.

"Torres!" Mark exclaimed as he flung open the door. He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, completely ignoring the fact that he was in a towel. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Callie replied with a laugh as he let her go. She and Mark had been friends for years, originally meeting through their parents when Callie was in late elementary school. They'd literally grown up together. He was always there for her, even though he lived a good distance away. He was the one who told her about sex, he was her first kiss, and he was her best friend. Spending her first two years of college with him was definitely the best decision she could have ever made.

"You all moved in?" he asked, pulling her a little further into the room so he could close the door.

"Well you know me," the Latina said with a smirk, "I have enough clothes to sink a battleship, so I am 'mostly' moved in."

Mark chuckled as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Sounds just like you, Cal. How are you liking Kildahl? Have you met your roommate yet?"

"Kildahl is…small," Callie answered honestly. "And my roommate is interesting."

"That bad huh?"

"No, not bad," the brunette replied. "We haven't really had a chance to actually talk. We seem to be very different."

"Sloan," Derek barked as he entered the room. "The A.C. wants us to go check on the fourth floor girls and see if they need any help."

"Okay," Mark answered, "just let me pull on some pants."

"I'll just meet you up there," Derek said impatiently before leaving, letting the door slam behind him.

"What's his deal?" Callie asked, knowing he and Mark have been close since they met as prospective students their junior year of high school.

"I'll tell you about it later," Mark answered dismissively, pulling on a pair of well fitting jeans. "Let's go meet some hot underclassmen."

"You're such a pig," the brunette scolded as she playfully punched him in the arm.

Mark merely shot her a devilish smirk as he opened the door. Following Callie out the door, they walked down the hallway towards the stairs, Derek a few paces ahead of them. Turning to go up the stairs, Callie grabbed Mark's hand to pull him out of the way a futon that nearly hit him in the face. Mark smiled his gratitude before turning to head up the stairs. As Callie was about to follow, she spotted the blue eyed blonde from earlier, struggling with a big trunk. Rushing down the stairs, she grabbed the other side. "You looked like you could use a hand," she said, offering the blonde a smile. "My name is Callie."

"Arizo," she paused and shook her head, regaining her composure, "Ari. My name is Ari."

"Nice to meet you, Ari," the brunette answered as she backed her way up the stairs with a trunk. After a few minutes of careful navigation up the stairs, they were on the fourth floor. "Which way to your room?" Callie asked, gesturing to either way down the hallway with her head.

"It's right behind you," Arizona answered, gently pushing the brunette in the right direction with her trunk.

Callie backed into the large room, putting the trunk on the floor. "Wow," she commented, looking around. "This is pretty big, you got lucky."

"Do you not live in Hoyme?" Arizona questioned as she started to arrange her desk.

"No," the Latina replied, shaking her head. "I live in Kildahl. My friend Mark is a J.C. over here."

"So you're in with the upperclassmen. Remind me to keep you around," the blonde said jokingly.

"Have you met your roommates yet?" Callie inquired, interested in keeping the conversation going.

Arizona shook her head. "I haven't actually. I know one of them is a soccer player, but I know next to nothing about the other."

"Ok well I'm going to head back downstairs to Mark's room. I think I saw him wondering that way. Maybe I'll see you around," the Latina said as she made her way to the door.

"Hey Callie?" the blonde blurted, causing Callie to stop in the doorway. "Wanna go to the ceremony together? My parents didn't come with me."

A smile broke out on Callie's face. "Yeah absolutely. Meet you in the lobby in a half hour?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. See you then," the Latina said before disappearing into the hallway.

Arizona sighed, turning back to the pile of stuff she had yet to unpack. Jen left just a little bit ago, but they'd realized Arizona forgot her trunk, which was why she was dragging it up the stairs. Only by chance did she run into the same beautiful brunette she had earlier. Talk about a stroke of luck. The woman, Callie, was stunning. Her long, brown hair and deep brown eyes, pulled Arizona in. She didn't want to get involved all that early in her college career, but there was something about this Callie girl that made her want to forget all sense and rational thought.

The blonde slowly put her desk together, placing everything in its particular spot. This sort of unpacking was therapeutic for her. Truthfully, she didn't have much to unpack since she'd learned a long time ago what was needed and what wasn't. Boarding school did that for her. She'd attended high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, arguably the most prestigious boarding school in the country. She matriculated there as a sophomore when her father started to become serious about his political ambitions.

Her father was elected to the Illinois state senate when her brother, Timothy, was in elementary school and before Arizona was even born. He served three terms before running for governor on a whim. Surprisingly, he actually won and served two during Arizona's childhood. He began his second term right when Arizona entered eighth grade. She attended Loyola Academy for her first year of high school, but over that summer, he announced his intention to run for president to his family. Deciding that over the next few years it would behoove Arizona to not be burdened with the craziness that came with running a presidential campaign, she was sent to Exeter. Being the governor's daughter, it was always hard for Arizona to make quality friends, even at Loyola, but at Exeter, she was really able to find her place. She was active on the yearbook committee as well in student government, much to the amusement of her father.

She had a great relationship with her family. It was one of the stipulations, she discovered later, of her mother allowing him to become heavily involved in politics. Even though at the time, she may not have been too keen on the idea of going to school across the country when she was 16, she understood her father's position and would support him. If there was one thing Arizona's father instilled in her, it was the sense of duty. She had a duty to her family and to the country as a member of a special family.

Part of that duty was remaining in the closet.

Arizona realized she was a lesbian at a very early age. She never really went through the boy crazy phase most of the girls she knew did during middle school and early high school. As soon as she learned what "hot" and "sexy" meant, Arizona was attaching them to women. She never broached the subject with her parents until her father's announcement that fateful summer. By that time, however, Arizona was 15 and had never shown interest in boys, so she hoped her parents had caught on to the fact that she was gay. She still worried, however, because of her father's military background.

It was Arizona's brother, though, who really pushed for her to come out to her family. He was a freshman at the Naval Academy at the time, but made sure she knew he was supportive of her. "I'm gonna dance so hard at your wedding," he told her before giving her a hug. Timothy held her hand as she told her parents she was gay. She may not have been ready to come out, but because of her father's situation, it was vital that he know everything. It probably wouldn't have been a big deal if she hadn't had the occasional hook up with girls from school, but she really didn't want that leaking out and disrupting things for her father.

Her dad was a republican. A moderate republican, but a republican nonetheless. He'd made it perfectly clear over the years that if Arizona were to be found in a compromising situation with another woman, it would have serious repercussions for his political career. He accepted her, even though Arizona had her doubts about his potential reaction. He only had one question: "Are you still who I raised you to be?" Of course she was. She was Arizona Jane Robbins, the only daughter of Colonel Daniel Robbins and Barbara Robbins. She loved her family and her country.

With a satisfied nod, Arizona took a look at her progress. Her desk was completely organized, and her bed made. Looking over at the suitcase of clothes, she decided that could wait until later. She took a seat in her freshly unpacked target papasan chair. Even though she was the daughter of the president, Arizona insisted on having a "normal" college experience, whatever that was, so she did her shopping at Target, because that's where they bought Timothy's college things.

She turned her head as she heard someone enter the room, her eyes landing on a woman about her own height with longer dirty blonde hair. "Um hi," Arizona said uncertainly.

"Hi," the girl replied, turning around to face Arizona. "You must be Ari."

"Yeah," Arizona answered. "Are you Teddy or Meredith?"

"Teddy," she said with a smile, sticking her hand out for the blonde to shake.

Arizona took her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"So where are you from?" Teddy asked.

Arizona took a quick breath to make sure she didn't say something she'd regret later. "Chicago," she responded simply. "You?"

"Austin, Texas."

"Wow," Arizona said, impressed. "You're a long way from home."

"Yeah," the other woman chuckled. "I have a feeling come November, I will seriously regret this decision."

"Why did you come up here?" Arizona asked as she reached for her box of cheezits. "If you don't mind me asking."

Teddy shrugged her indifference; she didn't really have a problem answering the question. "I just had that feeling. My mom is from Wisconsin, so I looked at a couple of schools up here. Everyone I knew in high school went to UT Austin, and I really didn't want that, so I looked elsewhere. When I visited Olaf, it just clicked like everyone said it would. You know?"

"Yeah," the blonde said fondly, "I do."

"Oh hey guys," Meredith said as she bounded into the room, announcing her presence.

"Hi Meredith," Teddy smiled. "Meredith, this is Ari, our other roommate."

"Cool," she answered, flashing Arizona a bit of a stiff smile. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm not really the happy bubbly type."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," the blonde responded with a dimpled smile. Teddy looked between the three of them and started laughing. Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Care to clue us in Teddy?"

"It's nothing," she replied, still chuckling softly to herself. "We're just all sort of stereotypical 'Oles'. Blonde hair, light eyes…we're just kind of Scandinavian looking. It's amusing."

"I suppose that's true," Meredith said as she smiled softly.

Arizona looked at the clock on the wall, realizing that she was supposed to meet Callie downstairs in about two minutes to go to the ceremony. "I'm going to head down to Skogland for the ceremony with this girl I met. Are you guys going?"

"Yeah," Teddy confirmed. "Soccer team."

"I met this girl named Cristina last night, and we're gonna go together. We should all start an orphan club though since apparently none of us have parents," Meredith smirked.

Arizona laughed as she approached the door frame. "Definitely. I'll see you guys later. Maybe at Playfair or something."

"Yeah maybe," Meredith muttered noncommittally. There was no way in hell she'd be caught at Playfair.

"I'm gonna head out too," Teddy said, following her roommate's lead. "I'll catch you later, Meredith."

"Bye," Meredith answered as her other roommate exited, leaving her alone in the room. She took a deep breath and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. She was still thinking about that stupid Derek guy and it was driving her up a wall. Meredith Grey didn't do relationships and mushy crap. She was a love 'em and leave 'em kind of gal. No strings, no hang ups, and no feelings. But this guy got under her skin. The way his lips felt against hers, the way their bodies fit together, and the way he tilted his head when he smirked all taunted her. This did not happen to her. She was Meredith Grey. She slept with inappropriate men and didn't make a habit of being healthy and whole. Dark and twisty were her middle names. She did not think about stupid blue eyed boys she met at parties.

Grabbing her stuff, Meredith headed for the stairwell. She was supposed to meet Cristina down at Skoglund for the ceremony soon and didn't want to be particularly late, no matter how much she didn't want to be there. Going down the stairs quickly, she squealed as she ran into another body. "Oh I'm so sorry," she said quickly. Looking up, her green eyes met royal blue. "Oh shit."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "This morning it was Derek."

"You're a student here?" Meredith asked quickly, even though last night, she fully knew that was a possibility. She's just thankful he isn't some young PhD candidate.

He smirked playfully. "A J.C. actually. In this building to be precise."

"Shit," she cursed. "Ok we have to pretend it never happened."

"Which never happened?" Derek asked snarkily, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "You sleeping with me or you throwing me out this morning? Because both are fond memories I'd like to hold on to."

"No," Meredith answered emphatically. "There will be no memories. I'm not the girl at the party anymore and you aren't the guy. This can't exist. You get that right?"

Derek nodded, going along with it but not really agreeing with anything she just said. "You took advantage of me and now you want to forget about it."

"I did not," Meredith said, biting back a laugh.

Derek put on his mock serious face. "I was drunk, vulnerable, and good looking and you took advantage."

Meredith smiled and laughed softly, unable to contain it anymore. "I was the one who was drunk and you are not that good looking."

"Maybe not today," Derek agreed. "Last night," he remembered fondly with a sense of nostalgia, "last night I was very good looking. I had my red shirt on, my good looking shirt, and you took advantage."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I didn't take adva…"

"Wanna take advantage again?" Derek interrupted. "Say Friday night?"

Meredith just stared at him. This guy was overconfident and apparently dense. She didn't care how skilled his hands were or how good looking he was. "No. You're a J.C. and I'm your resident," she answered as he kept staring at her. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you've seen me naked," she replied, glaring daggers at Derek as he tilted his head and gave her that stupid smirk. "Derek," she scolded. "This is inappropriate. Has that ever occurred to you?" she asked. Not giving him a chance to answer, Meredith continued down the stairs, in a hurry to get to the ceremony.

Walking briskly down the paths heading to Skoglund, Meredith snuck through the gym doors, and scanned the crowd for Cristina. She found the Asian woman predictably hiding in the corner as far away from people as possible. Meredith climbed the bleachers to the secluded corner, collapsing in a chair next to Cristina. "Hey."

"Hey," Cristina greeted blandly. "Think this will be boring?"

"Very," Meredith answered, flipping through the program. She'd seen a couple of these things as a kid when her mom dragged her along. They were all pomp and circumstance, which she supposed was necessary to begin the official college experience. The faculty processed. The Vice President talked about how this class was the smartest and most diverse in the history of the school, though Meredith snickered remembering Teddy's comment from earlier. Then, they sang a hymn –like song, followed by all those with parents present to hug them before they all left to meet their advisors.

"Who do you have?" Cristina asked as they filed outside to receive their box dinners.

"Burke," Meredith replied.

"Me too," the Asian woman said somewhat excitedly. She wasn't one to get mushy and friendly with others, but she was thankful she'd at least know someone. "You a chem person?"

"Biochem and premed."

"I'm premed too."

"Cool," Meredith said as they searched for this mysterious Burke person. They found him sitting off on the small hill by the building. He had a gigantic sign that said Burke pitched in the grass next to him.

"That's my roommate," Cristina commented as they neared the small circle that had formed around the professor. "And my teammate," she added, seeing Teddy take a seat.

"Those are my roommates," Meredith stated. "This is weird."

"I concur," Cristina said, sitting down on the grass, soon joined by Meredith.

"Hi roommate," Callie said to Cristina, smiling.

"Please don't advertise that we're roommates. You smile too much," Cristina said blithely.

"Hey Callie," Arizona said from across the circle.

"Hi Ari," Callie smiled shyly.

Teddy raised her eyebrows. "Am I the only person who thinks it's weird that we all know each other?"

"Nope," Meredith answered.

"Definitely not."

Callie shrugged. "At least we're not all premed."

"I am."

"Me too."

"Yep."

"Shit, me too."

"I stand corrected," the Latina huffed.

"Well this is unusual," Burke commented. "I'm Preston Burke and I'm a professor in the chemistry department, but I work extensively with the premedical program here at Olaf. This meeting is so you can get to know me. I may not stay your advisor for the entirety of your career here, but I will be working with you on course selection for this upcoming semester."

They went around the circle, each saying their intended majors, which Professor Burke said they would all most likely change or consider changing at one point. Of course, they all vehemently denied this would happen to them. It was sort of weird for them to all be together, but fun at the same time. They were such an interesting collection of personalities. After another half hour of boring academic discussion, they were set free for the night.

"Are you guys going to playfair?" Callie asked, walking between Arizona and Cristina.

"No way in hell am I going to playfair," Meredith answered. "Too many name and birthday games, most of which will involve me dancing butt-to-butt with some awkward freshman boy that just wants to feel me up."

"She has a point," Cristina conceded, earning a thank you gesture from Meredith.

"We could go to the Kildahl Awkward Dance?" Teddy suggested. Every year Kildahl, a dorm, would put on the Awkward Dance. It was the amazingly awkward first dance of the year out on the lawn, for freshmen only. There was more awkward mingling, awkward touching, and awkward dancing. It was apparently supposed to be fun.

"I want to throw a party," Meredith blurted.

"On campus? Are you insane?" Teddy warned, because of the no on-campus drinking policy.

"I have a house off-campus," Meredith replied.

"Oh," Teddy shrugged. "I'm down then, but do we know enough people to throw a party? I only know the soccer team."

"Callie knows Mark," Arizona blurted. "He's a J.C. in Hoyme and probably has a lot of friends."

Callie shrugged. "That's actually very true."

"Ok, you call him," Meredith directed, "and tell him to get the alcohol. I'll pay him back later. Teddy and Cristina, you talk to the soccer team. I have a pretty big house, so don't worry about the number of people."

For the next hour, the group of new friends called the few contacts they had, trying to set up something resembling a decent party. Of course they did all of this while walking the short distance down the hill to Meredith's. Opening the door to her spacious house, she let in all of the women behind her. They spent a half hour, pushing things around in the living room to create more space. They also took a couple of light tables to the basement for drinks. Rummaging through a couple of hidden boxes, Meredith pulled out her speakers, taking them downstairs, and hooking them up to her laptop.

"Those are nice," Cristina commented.

"Thanks. Do you know when people are getting here?"

"Mark just arrived with the booze actually," Cristina answered.

"Perfect!" Meredith exclaimed, happy this was happening.

She took some of the drinks from Mark, handing some to Cristina for downstairs, and arranging the rest in the kitchen. Soon, the house began to fill with people as the music thumped through the halls. Meredith and Cristina shared a bottle of tequila, passing it between the two of them as they bobbed to the music. Callie stood awkwardly next to Arizona, sipping on a cup of beer. "Good party," she commented as she swayed to the beat.

"I wouldn't know," Arizona answered blandly.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "You've never been to a party?"  
>"Nope," the blonde replied. "I went to boarding school. You got kicked out for having parties. Did you party all the time or something?"<p>

"I'm from Miami, so of course I did," Callie laughed. "Which school?" the Latina questioned, changing the subject.

"Exeter."

The brunette lifted her glass in a congratulatory salute. "Impressive."

"It's no big deal," Arizona replied with a nervous laugh as she sipped on her own drink.

"Don't be embarrassed. It's really cool. I wish I went to boarding school."

"It's certainly an interesting experience. I'll say that much."

Callie smiled warmly. "You'll have to tell me your stories."

"Only if you tell me about the clubs in Miami," Arizona replied, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Deal," The Latina agreed, eager to spend any time she could with the stunning blonde.

"You guys having fun?" Meredith asked as she popped up out of nowhere, her tequila bottle still attached to her hand. The two girls nodded, bringing a smile to Meredith's lips. "Awesome! I'm going to go find some boys." The petite college student slid through the throng of people, her body brushing against a familiar one. She looked up, and of course, there was Derek. She turned the other direction, slicing through the people to get away from his captivating blue eyes, especially while she was drunk. She managed to get out of the crowd of people, but she soon realized he followed her up the stairs. "I'm not going out with you," she blurted.

"Did I ask you to go out with me?" he asked, a flirty tone lacing his voice. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"I'm not dating you and I'm definitely not sleeping with you again. You're my junior counselor."

"I'm actually the boys' J.C.," Derek corrected.

"Whatever. You're my J.C."

"I'm your sister, I'm your daughter," he replied ridiculously.

"You're sexually harassing me."

"I'm standing in a hallway."

"Look," Meredith declared, "I'm drawing a line. The line is drawn. There is a big, fat line."

"So this line," Derek began, tightening his lean muscles underneath his shirt, "is it imaginary or do I need to get you a marker?"

Rolling her eyes, Meredith pushed him against the wall, and crushed their lips together. They frantically kissed until Meredith finally pulled herself away from him and ran back down the stairs, throwing a smirk over her shoulder.

"We'll talk later?" Derek asked, even though he knew she was already gone.

Downstairs, Callie sat next to Arizona on the couch. She tried to pretend like she didn't want to just push the blonde against the wall and take her then. She'd definitely had a little bit to drink. "You're beautiful," she gushed, brushing a blonde hair from her eyes.

"Thanks Callie," Arizona giggled. "You're really pretty."

"Is Ari short for anything?"

Arizona's heart constricted in her chest. Her first lie. "No. Just Ari. What about Callie?"

"Calliope," the brunette responded, slurring just a little bit. "But I don't let anyone call me that except for my dad, but that's because he doesn't listen to me when I correct him."

"Calliope," Arizona repeated. "I like it."

"You can call me Calliope, Ari. I like the way you say it," Callie concluded as she put her head on the blonde's shoulder.

Arizona, feeling a little buzzed herself, draped an arm around the Latina snuggling her close. Oh yeah, this woman was dangerous. Arizona could already tell she could easily fall for the girl snuggled up to her. She could resist for now, but it'd been less than 24 hours. Give Callie a month and Arizona knew she'd be a goner.

She definitely didn't care. Not tonight anyway.


	3. Learning to Fall

Here is chapter three which is a direct result of my wonderfully efficient procrastinating. You'll notice, there's a lot more Calzona in this chapter. Hurray for that. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them. I finally figured out how I'm going to reply to them now that the email link doesn't work, so you will be hearing from me lol. Anyway…as always…

Happy Reading,

~KB~

p.s. A special thank you to my beta, Ali, who was a bamf and did this on command tonight. You rock baby.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Learning to Fall<p>

"I hate this week," Meredith yelled as she entered the room. Dropping her bag on the floor by the futon, she walked over to the window seat, and collapsed on the soft surface. "Why do I want to be a doctor? Why did I do Chubby, Ari? Why?"

Arizona rolled her eyes. Chubby was widely considered to be one of the most difficult courses at St. Olaf. It was an integrated Chemistry and Biology three course program designed to kick everyone's ass. Of course, most of the little group they had formed during their first few weeks of school decided taking that course was a great idea, Arizona included. "Because we're stupid, Meredith. We like science so much; it's all we want to do, even if it kills us."

"We're so brilliant," Meredith replied, flopping her arms over her head onto the pillows behind her. Gazing out the window, she saw the spinning blades of the wind turbine peeking over the trees. She yawned, stretching as she did so. "I swear," Meredith said, changing the subject, "the wind turbine could hypnotize someone. Every time I look out the window, the damn thing lulls me to sleep."

Arizona chuckled, standing from her chair, and walking over towards Meredith. She leaned against the wall, allowing her gaze to travel out the window. "I love this window," the blonde confessed. "It's such an awesome view."

Meredith arched an eyebrow. "You like looking at cornfields?"

"It's not the fields," Arizona replied. "It's how much we can see from here. It's just a constant reminder that there's so much more than just us in the world. Those are people's homes, their work places, their lives. I just like seeing things."

"You should definitely be a philosophy major," Meredith decided. She sat up and looked Arizona dead in the eyes. "Happy birthday by the way."

Arizona immediately tensed at the well wishes. "How'd you know it was my birthday?"

"Facebook," Meredith replied with a shrug.

"Oh right," Arizona said slowly, forgetting all about that. She'd had to play dumb earlier that month when people questioned her about Facebook. Of course she had one as "Arizona Robbins", but "Ari James" did not have a Facebook. 'Twas a big problem. She just made a new one, but it felt odd to just have the people she had met thus far at St. Olaf be her friends on the social networking site. "Don't make a big deal out of my birthday please. It's not really something I celebrate in a big way."

"OK…" Meredith said skeptically, taking out her phone surreptitiously. When Arizona wasn't looking, she fired off a quick text, hoping people were actually paying attention to their phones today. She decided, however, not to take any chances, and slid off the cushioned window seat. "I'm going to go down to Derek's room," she announced to her roommate, not divulging that she was actually going to talk to Callie, who was probably there with Mark.

"K," Arizona responded. "I'll see you later for dinner? I think I might go over to Christiansen to practice, but I don't plan to be there forever or anything."

"Yeah," the other woman said with a nod, "that sounds good. Text me when you're done or something."

"Ok. Bye Meredith."

"Bye," she replied fleetingly, drifting out of the room and down the flight of stairs to the boys' floor. Within a few seconds, she was knocking on the door of Derek and Mark's room.

"Hey Mer," Mark said as he opened the door. "Looking for Derek?"

"Callie actually," Meredith answered, looking past him and into the room. "She here?"

"No," Mark answered, shaking his head. "She's over at Christiansen."

"Oh," Meredith furrowed her brow, not really expecting that to be the answer. "Well I'll head over there then," she said backing away from the door. "Bye Mark."

"Hey Meredith?" Mark called after her.

"Yeah?" she answered, turning around.

Mark opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but his features softened and he shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "I'll tell Derek you stopped by when I see him."

Meredith smiled softly, turning away from him before heading down the stairs to the lobby. She pushed open the door to the building, stepping out into the cool, autumn air. She loved Minnesota this time of year. The colors of the leaves were changing, giving the campus a blanket of vibrant fall colors. Christiansen Hall of Music was really close to Hoyme, which was why there were an alarming number of music people in the "party dorm". Not that music people couldn't party…ok in her mind, music people couldn't party. At least that's what she thought of St. Olaf music kids; it didn't matter whether or not it was actually true.

Pulling open the large double doors to the music building, Meredith began her blind wandering of the building in search of her Latina friend. She could hear various melodies drifting through the doors of practice rooms, varying from voices to trumpets to strings. She picked out a particularly beautiful voice, finding herself drifting towards it. Whoever it was, also played piano quite well because they were accompanying themselves. She found the practice room in question, easily enough. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked through the glass, gasping as she saw it was Callie practicing. She knocked gently on the door before pulling it open. "Hey," she said as she stepped into the room.

"Jesus!" Callie exclaimed, startled by the sudden intrusion. "Sorry, Meredith. You just scared me. What's up?"

"Oh I just wanted to talk to you about the plans for tonight, but first…you sing? What?" Meredith asked, sitting down on the piano bench next to the brunette.

Callie blushed slightly. "Yeah I do. I'm in Manitou and stuff, but I also like to mess around on my own. It helps me think."

"Well you're really good," Meredith confessed with a smile.

"Thanks," the Latina replied. "You came to say something about tonight?"

"Yeah," the blonde answered with a nod. "I was talking to Ari today and she said that she doesn't really make a big deal about her birthday."

"Oooo," Callie winced. "Should we not do something? I mean we're her friends, so we should do something right? That's like our job."

"I don't know," Meredith answered. "She seemed pretty adamant. I texted everyone else, but I haven't gotten a response yet." At that moment, her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh I spoke too soon." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Cristina says we should listen to Ari and Teddy says who doesn't celebrate a birthday? Basically, it's up to us."

"Well I think we should still do it. It will be fun," the brunette answered enthusiastically.

"OK cool. I'll let everyone know it's still on," Meredith said standing up. "I'll let you get back to your practice. Bye Callie."

"Bye Meredith," the Latina replied, turning back to the piano. Her fingers caressed the keys, coaxing the music from them. Smiling as she allowed her body to relax and take over as she played, Callie felt the music wash over her. She loved performing classical music as a member of a choir, but she really thrived on being connected with the piano and singing along. There was something cathartic about it for her. She'd been playing since she was a little girl, originally doing only classical music for both the piano and voice. As she grew older, however, Callie realized she liked to perform pop and alternative music as well.

Her father never really approved that part of her hobby. To him, the only music she should have been studying and performing was that of the classical genre. Because of that, Callie never really performed at home. When she was visiting Mark last year, though, they went to a bar in downtown Northfield that was 18 plus called The Contented Cow, or simply The Cow. They often had live music, and Mark suckered her into performing that night. It was just a simple keyboard in the corner of a crowded bar, but she'd made the most of it, and sang from her heart. She absolutely loved it. Beyond the cheers and the applause, she just felt so much more connected to what she sang than some Italian aria written by a man who lived a hundred years ago. That music had a place in her heart, but if she was just going to sing something, Callie would much rather it came from a place she actually understood.

Her hands moved with a little more force as her voice grew. This song was all about her voice and less about her skills as a pianist, but it was one of her favorites to sing. She added frills here and there to jazz it up a bit, but mostly she kept it the same. She was so into what she was singing; she didn't notice the blonde slip into the room and sit in one of the chairs. As the song came to an end, Callie relaxed, but was soon startled by the gentle applause coming from behind her.

"That was amazing, Calliope," Arizona gushed from her chair. "Yellow by Coldplay right?"

"Yeah, sort of," the brunette answered. "It's the Sara Bareilles cover. What are you doing here?"

"Came by to practice," the blonde replied. "I actually have this room after you."

"What do you play?" Callie asked. She had no idea the blonde was musical at all, but then again, she'd only known her for a few weeks.

Arizona motioned to her case in the corner. "Cello."

"That's so cool. I love the cello; it's one of my favorite instruments," the Latina confessed. "Well, I'll let you get going," she said, moving to leave.

"Wait," Arizona said quickly, placing her hand over the brunette's. She blushed as she removed it quickly, but not fast enough for Callie to not notice. "Um," she stammered, still blushing. "Will you play something else for me?"

"On one condition," Callie responded with a smile as she sat back down on the bench. "You have to play me something too."

"Deal."

"Ok you first," the Latina quickly suggested, earning a glare from the blonde. "What? I already played, so technically it is your turn."

"Fine," Arizona conceded, picking up her cello from the corner. She nestled it between her thighs as she took her seat. Exhaling, she made a few broad strokes across the instrument, smiling as the deep tones reverberated within the room. She took a deep breath and began the piece in earnest. Her fingers flew over the strings, producing quick notes from the instrument.

Callie watched in awe as the blonde swayed to the music. She was absolutely amazing. The piece itself wasn't too overly difficult, but watching her play it was simply awe inspiring, it was that good. Callie simply relaxed as she continued to play. She couldn't help the feelings stirring within her for the blonde. She'd been fighting these same feelings for their first three weeks of school, and now that Callie knows her crush plays the cello, she's screwed. Plus, she couldn't just suck; she actually had to be good. If she sucked, it'd be much easier to ignore. But Callie had a weakness for beautiful and talented women.

This wasn't good.

The Latina clapped appreciatively as the blonde released the last note. "Prelude to the first Bach cello suite."

"I know it's cliché," Arizona said, "but it's my favorite piece to play. I love it."

"You were phenomenal," Callie flattered. "Seriously, amazing."

"Yeah well so are you," the blonde replied, wanting to take the spotlight off herself. "It's your turn."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I was hoping you forgot."

"Please Calliope," Arizona chuckled. "Just play for me."

Smirking, Callie nodded, her fingers returning to the keys. She chuckled softly as she played the first few notes of the song. She was feeling a little playful and this was the perfect song for that mood. "All the single ladies," she sang. "All the single ladies. All the single ladies. All the single ladies, put your hands up. Put your hands up."

Arizona laughed as the Latina continued to sing and play along. Her song choice was the perfect one for the blonde's mood. It was just what she needed. Arizona bopped along to the song next to the brunette, chiming in with backup vocals, which earned her a surprised look from Callie. "That was fun," she giggled into Callie's shoulder as they finished up the song. "You're really talented."

"So are you, Ari," Callie smiled, her eyes locking with Arizona's blue ones.

The blonde inhaled sharply at the connection. She'd tried to ignore this, tried to pretend it didn't exist, but when Callie looked at her like that, she couldn't anymore. It was like the Latina could peer directly into her soul, and Arizona didn't care how clichéd that was. She felt herself leaning forwards, their lips inching closer together. Arizona's heart pounded in her ears. This was it; the moment she'd been waiting for since the party they had at Meredith's their first night.

"Shit," Callie cursed as her phone buzzed against the wood of the piano.

Arizona instantly jumped back, putting a respectable space between them. "What is it?" she asked, running a hand through her blonde curls, lightly tugging at them in frustration.

"It's Meredith. She wants us to come down to her house."

"Why her house?"

Callie fidgeted nervously. "I don't know. I don't ask questions when it comes to Meredith, and I especially don't ask questions if Cristina is involved."

"Ok I don't blame you," Arizona said.

"Hey I know you were going to practice, and I'm sorry for distracting, but you want to head down there with me?"

"How about I meet you there?" the blonde asked warmly. "I want to get a little bit of practice in, but I won't stay too long."

"OK sounds like a plan to me," the Latina replied, standing. She moved towards the door. Before she left, Callie looked back at the blonde. "Happy birthday, Ari."

Arizona's heart melted at the kindness and sincerity behind Callie's words. "Thank you Calliope." She took a deep breath, turning back to her cello. Hearing the door click behind her, the blonde put the bow against the strings of her instrument. She moved the bow in long strokes, reveling in the deep, rich tones emanating from it. D minor was her favorite key, and it was the key of this piece. It was the only piece she'd ever written. She actually wrote it for a friend, her best friend.

Caitlin.

They were two peas in a pod, Arizona and Caitlin. Growing up together in Chicago, she and Caitlin met in elementary school, and she was the only person who liked Arizona for who she was and not as "the governor's daughter". Once they realized they shared a birthday, it was a foregone conclusion they would be best friends forever. Then, when they were in seventh grade, Caitlin was diagnosed with leukemia. The news of her diagnosis rocked Arizona to her core.

For awhile, it was ok. Caitlin handled the situation as she did most things, with an incontrovertible sense of humor. She cracked jokes when she pulled out the first fist full of hair. She giggled the entire time Arizona shaved her head that same night, talking about how she wanted a skull and crossbones bandana because she could still be badass without her hair. It pained Arizona to take that away from her; Caitlin had gorgeous hair: shoulder length dark ringlet curls. Definitely badass.

She lived longer than anyone thought she would. Her prognosis when she was initially diagnosed was extremely grim. They only gave her a year. She lived five. When Arizona was sent to Exeter for high school, leaving Caitlin was the most painful part. She was the person to whom Arizona first came out. She even offered to be Arizona's first kiss when the blonde was freaking out about being alone forever. Before she left, Arizona took her up on that offer, even though it wasn't Arizona's first kiss, it was Caitlin's. There was nothing romantic about it, but there was so much love there.

For her first month at Exeter, Arizona pretended her life wasn't falling apart. Caitlin was not well when she left, and the blonde knew she didn't have much time left. Arizona, however, wasn't willing to fight for her father, so she missed the last month of her best friend's life. Two days before they were supposed to celebrate their "sweet sixteen", she got a call from her dad. Caitlin died that morning.

Arizona flew home that night. She hugged Caitlin's parents, and cried just a bit, and then she flew back to school. She never really mourned the loss of her best friend at the time, so she wrote this piece and she played it every day on their birthday. For a long time, Arizona only asked for flowers on September 30th, which she would lay at Caitlin's grave. Last year, she took her cello out to the cemetery and played this piece for her. Caitlin always liked the richness of the cello.

Wiping away her tears, Arizona stood from the chair. She deposited the cello into the case before leaving the room. Putting the cello in her music locker by the orchestra room, Arizona took a deep breath. She exited Christiansen, beginning her journey across campus. She quickly descended the stairs by the library down to St. Olaf Avenue. She was really looking forward to seeing Callie in a few minutes. The Latina had an uncanny ability to make Arizona feel like she was floating. There was just something about her that sent the blonde reeling.

Over the past few weeks, there had been lots of stolen glances and soft whispers of maybes. Like today for example. Arizona totally thought they were finally going to kiss, but no, Callie's stupid phone had to buzz. Their little group of five hung out a lot, so it didn't really leave room for alone time, and even if it did, Arizona wasn't really sure where they stood. Callie was definitely her closest friend she'd made so far, though Teddy was up there as well. Arizona wanted more, but she didn't exactly know how to go about it.

She approached Meredith's house, which was oddly dark, with a bit of suspicion. As she opened the door, the lights flicked on and a crowd of people immediately became visible. "SURPRISE!" they all yelled. Arizona jumped from the shock and her eyes immediately began to water. She looked at Callie with defeat written all over her features. She tried to hold it together, but slowly she began to crumble. Sobbing, Arizona shook her head before bolting from the house.

Callie swore under her breath as she took off her hat. Teddy stepped forward to go comfort Arizona, but Callie held her hand in front of her. "I've got it," she murmured before taking off after the blonde. She saw her sitting on the steps in front of the house. Closing the door behind her, Callie sat down next to her. "In retrospect, now I realize surprise parties are hostile," she said, trying to comfort her. "And this was a bad idea." She placed a hand on the blonde's leg. "Please stop crying. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the party."

"Caitlin died," Arizona confessed. Callie elected to remain quiet as the blonde began to speak, opting instead for drawing on her jeans with soothing caresses from her fingers. Arizona leaned over on the Latina's shoulder, allowing Callie to comfort her. "My best friend and I shared a birthday and two years ago she died of cancer. I don't celebrate my birthday because it's a constant reminder that she isn't."

"I'm sorry," the Latina said, unable to come up with anything else to say. "I understand if you want to leave."

"No," Arizona said, brushing her face furiously. "I'm fine. I was just really shocked. I understand that you just wanted to do something nice for me and I really appreciate it. I appreciate _you_Calliope."

"You do?"

"I do," the blonde replied with a nod. "Thank you for being you and being so understanding today."

Grasping the blonde's hand, she pulled her up from the stairs and back towards the door. Raising her hand to her lips, Callie gently pressed her lips against the blonde's knuckles. "You're welcome, Ari."


	4. Dance in the Dark

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this. I meant to have it up yesterday, but well…my beta is actually here, so she distracts me lol. Thank you though to Ali for being an awesome beta.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

p.s. Uncharted just came on my shuffle…WIN!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Dance in the Dark<p>

Meredith was sleeping with Derek. Everyone knew it, but no one talked about it. Personally, Callie was beyond confused. Last she checked, Derek was practically married to Addison Montgomery, the brunette's other very close friend. She didn't know Derek particularly well, but Callie knew him well enough to know that he was not a cheater, which meant he was no longer with Addison. Of course, Addison never told Callie before she jumped on a plane to do Olaf's Global Semester trip. She was literally gallivanting across the globe, and Callie hadn't heard from her in weeks.

Mark wasn't talking either. He and Derek had been best friends for years and now they hardly spoke. Well, Derek hardly spoke to Mark; Mark attempted to speak to Derek. When Callie had asked him about it, she was always told the same thing: later. This whole game was starting to wear her patience thin. Mark wasn't talking. Addison was probably somewhere in Thailand. Derek wasn't talking. Meredith sure as hell wasn't talking. Hell, Meredith didn't even know what was going on, and probably had no idea Addison even existed.

"You can't tell her," Mark said from his bed.

Callie turned her eyes from the TV where she was currently engaged in serious zombie killing. "Get out of my head."

"Seriously Torres," Mark warned, "you can't tell her."

Callie stood angrily. "She has a right to know, Mark. This has been going on long enough, so unless you can give me a good reason why I can't tell her that Derek's former very serious girlfriend or whatever and my best friend will be back in February, then I'm going to tell her."

"I slept with Addison," he confessed, breathing a sigh of relief. "I slept with Addison," he repeated, "and Derek broke up with her when he found out."

The brunette gasped in shock. "You did what?" she hissed. "Are you insane?"

"I didn't mean to," he defended, rolling onto his back as he stared at the ceiling. "It just sort of happened. Derek's dad died last fall, and since then he hasn't been the same. He withdrew from everyone, especially me and Addison."

"You really aren't helping yourself here, Mark," Callie spat. She couldn't believe her friends. Callie knew what it felt like to be cheated on, so she was not just going to jump on Mark's side. "His dad died and you slept with the girl he was probably going to marry."

Mark shook his head in frustration. "It wasn't like that," he insisted. "I'm just trying to explain the circumstances. The whole year, Derek threw himself into his school work. He picked up extra lab time, worked more hours. The spark left his eyes and he left Addison. I was there trying to comfort her, and tell her that he would come around."

"So you comforted her with your penis?"

"NO!" Mark shouted angrily. "We were really drunk the night before Reading Day, the day between classes and finals. Derek literally hadn't spoken a word to Addison in two weeks and she was upset. It was an accident, and we agreed not to tell Derek."

"How long did it go on?" Callie asked, returning to killing zombies.

"At first, it was just a onetime thing, but then we sort of fell into bed the day we were supposed to be leaving. Derek caught us. Apparently he forgot a flash drive, so he came back to grab it, and walked in on the two of us…erm…finishing."

"Smooth Mark," the Latina commented, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. He took his flashdrive and whispered, 'we're done' and then he left."

Callie's eyes widened in shock. "He just left?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. He just left."

"So then how did you end up rooming together again?"

Mark shrugged. "This was at the end of the year. Everything was already set for the next year. Derek and I were going to be JCs together."

Callie let out a low whistle. "Wow."

"There's more," he said in a pained voice.

"How could there possibly be more?" The Latina questioned, whirling around to face her friend.

"I spent the summer in the Hamptons with Addison's family."

"You're actually with Addison?" Callie yelled, getting angrier by the second.

"Not anymore. We sort of had the summer, but she's on global, and I may or may not have slept with a tennis instructor near the end of the summer."

Callie couldn't help but chuckle at Mark's final admission. "You're shameless."

"Does that mean you aren't mad at me?" Mark asked hopefully.

"Oh I'm furious at both you and Addison for a couple of reasons. First, because neither of you told me what was going on, and we're supposed to be best friends or whatever. Second, because I'm in an awful position, and can't tell Meredith anything because you sleeping with Addison is apparently a good reason for me to keep my mouth shut."

"No, you're keeping your mouth shut because Derek is happy," Mark corrected.

"You make no sense," the brunette decided.

"Look," Mark said, sitting up on the bed, "Derek is still my best friend. I know I messed up, and he will probably never forgive me, but I love him. Right now, he's healing. His dad being murdered really messed him up, and Meredith is helping him to heal, though she doesn't really know it. I'm not going to screw that up for him, not after everything else. "

"Fine," Callie conceded, "I won't tell her…for now anyway."

"So are you going to the dance tonight?" Mark asked, changing the subject as he referenced the Halloween dance that night.

"Of course," the Latina answered. "I'm going to be a cheerleader, along with Ari. It's going to be a blast."

"Sounds cute," the junior counselor replied with a smirk. "Have you kissed her yet?"

"Shut up, Mark," Callie shouted, feigning anger.

He sighed exasperatedly, collapsing back onto the bed. "You still haven't kissed her?"

Callie shrugged. "Maybe I will tonight."

* * *

><p>Cristina knocked gently on Professor Burke's door. He had cornered her at the end of lab that afternoon, telling Cristina he wished to see her at 5:00, which was extremely odd, considering it was a Friday night and he didn't have office hours on Fridays anyway. She didn't stalk him or anything, but he was her advisor, so she was supposed to know things like that. It also helped that Preston Burke happened to be a very tall, very dark, and very handsome man with an intellect unlike anything Cristina had ever encountered.<p>

What was that Van Halen song? Hot for teacher? That was definitely it; she was hot for her teacher. Actually she was hot for her professor, who was a very well educated teacher, which was so much better. Her mother tried to tell Cristina that her lusting after older men was because she wanted a father figure in her life. She had promptly responded with the thought of calling another man daddy in bed was repulsive.

She was sixteen at the time.

Cristina's mother had caught her in a compromising position with her club soccer coach, an attractive man who was 27 at the time. A lecture and multiple therapy sessions ensued, but Cristina maintained that she was not scarred by her father's death, rather she just liked men. High school boys and college boys were not men. She ached for the soft wisps of chest hair over well defined and well worn muscles, the hardened face of a man who had experience, not the boyish gleam of a guy who had bed his high school sweetheart twice in preparation for playing the college field.

"Come in," the deep voice of Preston Burke commanded.

Cristina stood tall in the doorway. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

"Ahh, Cristina," he responded, her name sounding like a savored treat on his lips. "Please take a seat."

She strode across the room, taking a seat in the comfortable arm chair as she tried not to be affected by the imposing man in front of her. "How can I help you, Dr. Burke?"

"Please," the chemistry professor said with a smile, "when we're not in class, call me Preston."

"Ok…Preston, why exactly am I here?" Cristina asked slowly, arching her eyebrows.

The man smirked and reached into the small file cabinet next to his desk. He pulled out a few sheets of paper, lying them on the desk surface in front of Cristina. "Have you read my reviews on ?"

Cristina nodded. "Yes, I have."

"And what did they say?"

Cristina hesitated before answering. "They say you are the hardest chem. prof on campus, and that your tests are extremely hard, and no one gets above a C+," she paused briefly. "They also say that you're extremely arrogant and thrive on making students cry," she added with a glint in her eyes.

"What did you think of the test, Cristina? Do you think you did well?" Preston asked as he leaned back in his leather office chair.

"I didn't know the answers to two questions," she answered honestly, "and I guessed on two more. Everything else I got right."

"So better than a C+?"

Cristina hardened her eyes and set her jaw in a sign of strength. She exuded confidence, and she knew it. "Way better. I'd say a 96%"

Preston flipped the papers over, a full-fledged grin on his face. "Don't sell yourself short," he said, gesturing to the 97% on the top of the page. "That's the best score I've ever seen on one of my tests. To be honest, I thought you cheated, but after talking with you, I know that's not the case."

"How do you know?" Cristina challenged. "I could have."

"Your mind is unlike anything I've ever encountered. You didn't cheat."

"You're right," Cristina conceded with a smirk, "I didn't cheat."

"Ok," Preston said, shuffling the papers on his desk. "That was all I needed. You're free to go. Happy Halloween, Cristina."

"You too, Preston," She replied, before ducking out of his office. She was due to be in the triple in an hour to "get ready" for Halloween, whatever that meant. Cristina just knew that she was going as catwoman. Everything else was up to the "planning committee"; she would just show up where they told her to. She pulled out her phone, firing off a quick text to Meredith, before heading back to Kildahl.

The buzzing of her phone against the wood of the bed post caused Meredith to stir in Derek's arms. They were curled up in Meredith's twin bed in the triple. Groaning, she reached for the phone, knocking it off the post to the ground. "Shit," she cursed, pulling herself out of Derek's strong arms. She picked the phone up off the floor and shoved Derek, so he could get up. "Wake up," she whispered loudly. "People will be over here soon and we have to get ready for the dance tonight. Well I have to get ready, you have to stay here and be on duty, which really sucks for you."

"Can we get food first?" Derek complained. "I'm hungry and you never have food."

"There's left over pizza in the fridge," Meredith answered as she threw on one of Derek's smaller t-shirts. She'd stolen it a couple weeks ago and never gave it back.

"That's not food, that's leftovers," Derek replied, hopping out of the bed. He slid into his jeans, pulled on his white tee, and ruffled his hair. "You know," he said as he buttoned the blue shirt he'd been wearing, "some people would call this a relationship."

"What people?" Meredith questioned, running a quick brush through her hair.

"Me," Derek answered, dropping a quick kiss on Meredith's cheek. "I would."

"This isn't a relationship," she retorted as she tossed the brush onto her bed. "I know nothing about you."

"You know plenty about me," Derek said defensively. "You know I'm from New York and that I like ferryboats."

"Enough with the ferryboats," Meredith exclaimed in exasperation. "There are no ferryboats in Minnesota. What about your friends?"

"I don't have friends," Derek deadpanned.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Everybody has friends. I mean Who _do _you hang out with? What do you do when you're not with me? These are important questions."

"Ahhhh, important," he responded sarcastically, "for who?"

"We're having sex every night…"

"It's not just night," Derek corrected.

"Ok, we're having sex everyday…all the time…"

"That's a little excessive," he interrupted.

"Point is we're having a lot of sex. I think I deserve details," she finally finished, opening the door to the room.

"You have more details than most," Derek retorted.

"See," the blonde said as they headed towards the stairwell, "this is going someplace weird. I want facts," Meredith declared. She narrowed her eyes, a small smirk playing across her lips. "And until I get them, my pants are staying on."

"Or you could just roll with it," Derek suggested, jogging down the stairs alongside Meredith, "be flexible…see what happens."

Meredith stopped on the landing, glaring at Derek. "I'm not flexible."

"Ahhh," he said, sucking in a breath. "There I'd disagree." He shrugged, sighing, as he let out a small laugh. Stepping towards Meredith, he made sure there was no one coming up the stairs. He kissed her quickly, smiling, as his eyes twinkled. "We'll find these things out; that's the fun part you know? That's the gravy."

Meredith groaned, clenching her fists in frustration. "I don't want to be your gravy," she responded, her voice a little louder than she intended, earning her a glare from Derek.

"That sounds like a personal problem, Mer," Arizona quipped as she came up the stairs.

"Hi Ari. Hi Callie," Meredith said, blushing a little bit. "What are you guys up to?"

"We just got done with dinner," the Latina replied.

"Yep," Arizona agreed. "Now, we're going to get into our Halloween costumes."

"You guys are cheerleaders, right?" Derek asked.

Callie nodded. "Yeah. You and Cristina are Ivy and Catwoman and Derek, you're batman?"

Derek smiled. "Yep, but I will be a batman on duty."

"Awesome, but bummer about the duty, Derek," Arizona said with a smile. "Well, we're going to go get ready," the blonde declared as she and Callie passed by Meredith and Derek on the stairs. They finished climbing to the fourth floor, and headed towards Arizona's room. The blonde brandished her key, prepared to unlock the door, but when she tried the handle, the door opened easily. Arizona shook her head. She'd have to remind Meredith to actually lock the door when she left.

"Meredith forget to lock the door again?" Callie asked as she saw the blonde frown.

Arizona nodded. "Yeah. I wish she wouldn't do that."

The Latina smiled. "I wouldn't worry about that."

Arizona returned Callie's smile before opening her wardrobe against the back wall. She picked up their outfits that were hanging next to her Northface fleece. Handing the brunette hers, Arizona tilted her head and smirked. "You don't care if I change right here do you?"

Callie suddenly felt her throat become extremely dry. She was definitely attracted to the blonde standing in front of her. They'd spent the last two months flirting slyly, but other than a few almost and maybes, it had been mostly benign. "Uh sure," the Latina managed to answer, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

Arizona smiled as she lifted her long sleeve shirt over her head. She had to suppress the urge to laugh at the sight of Callie's jaw dropping on the floor. Perhaps she was being a little cruel, but they'd danced around the topic for so long, so Arizona felt like she needed to do something to let Callie know where she wanted to go. "You're staring, Torres," the blonde said playfully as she shimmied out of her tight jeans.

Callie was about to look away, embarrassed about being caught, until she caught the look in the blonde's eyes. She wasn't uncomfortable at all. This was…new, but Callie decided to play along. "You blame me? It's not my fault a beautiful woman insisted to take her clothes off in front of me."

Arizona chuckled as she fastened the very short, red skirt around her small waist. "It must be the effect you have on beautiful women, Calliope."

Callie didn't respond for a few seconds, for fear of saying something that was either stupid or too forward for their little game. "Want to throw me my outfit?"

"Here you go," Arizona replied, tossing the red suit towards the brunette. Arizona finished putting on her suit before looking up at Callie. She was going to say something, but the Latina picked that time to begin changing. Arizona was not ready for that. She gasped audibly at the sight of Callie's bare, caramel skin, earning her a bit of a smirk from the Latina. That smirk could very well be the death of her. This game of show and tell was going to dangerous and wonderful places.

"You're staring, James," Callie quipped, echoing Arizona's earlier words.

The blonde bristled at the use of her fake name, but quickly brushed it off. "You blame me?"

"Not at all," the Latina returned, finishing putting on the cheerleading uniform. She looked over at Arizona, her blonde locks falling to her shoulders in gentle curls. "You're like my very own Torrance Shipman," she said with a small laugh, referencing one of their favorite movies.

Arizona pouted. "I was more going for the Brittany Pierce look."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Glee? Really, Ari?"

"Oh come on," the blonde pleaded. "You get to be my Santana," she offered, wiggling her eyebrows in a way she hoped would persuade Callie to play along.

"Psh," the Latina scoffed. "What if I don't want to date you?"

"Technically, Brittany and Santana were only having sex, not dating," Arizona corrected.

"Well we aren't doing that either," Callie replied, a little more harshly than she'd intended.

"If you play your cards right, Calliope," the blonde whispered, inching closer towards Callie. She ran her index finger along the bare skin of Callie's stomach and leaned towards her ear, "that may not always be the case."

Before Callie could respond, the door opened, and their friends came spilling into the room. Meredith, Cristina, and Teddy shuffled inside, shutting the wooden entrance behind them. Cristina carried what looked to be a leather body suit, which Callie discovered was very difficult to get into as she helped Cristina put it on. Meredith's costume barely counted as clothes; it was basically two vines and see-through fabric. After a couple of tequila shots, Meredith tried to convince the room that dying her hair red would be a great idea. Thankfully, Cristina, of all people, talked her down off that ledge. Teddy looked stunning in her Wonder Woman costume, whirling her lasso and catching different people in the room.

As ten thirty neared, they left the room, and started to walk over to Buntrock Commons, the student center on campus. Walking into the building, the group of girls descended the stairs to the Pause. Passing through the double doors, they headed back to the Mane Stage. The Lion's Pause was the student run area where the students put on dances, concerts, and other miscellaneous activities. There was a lounge, a game room, a coffee house style room for poetry readings and open mic nights, and the kitchen for all their pizza needs. The dances, however, were always held at the Mane Stage, a big room modeled after Fifth Avenue, a club in Minneapolis.

They could hear the music thumping as they entered the large space. Feeling the alcohol course through her body, Callie really wanted to dance. She dragged Arizona onto the dance floor, laughing and giggling as the blonde bopped around to the music. Cristina and Meredith proceeded to make every man in the room jealous as they danced all over each other. They'd had a little more to drink than everyone else.

Teddy looked on; smiling as she sipped on a coke she bought from the kitchen. These sorts of things weren't really her scene, but everyone seemed to be having fun, and that made her happy. She couldn't help but laugh as she saw Mark Sloan enter the room. Of course, he was dressed as Superman. He must have heard her laugh, because he turned to face her, and then also started to chuckle.

"You must have read my mind, Altman," he joked.

"Or perhaps you read mine," she returned.

"Wanna dance for a bit?" he asked, motioning his head towards the dance floor.

"Sure," Teddy said with a smile.

Teddy and Mark joined the rest of the crew on the floor. The group had a great time, dancing and laughing the night away. By one a.m. exhaustion began to set in and one by one they faded off the dance floor. Finally, they gathered as a group near the doors, and started to walk back towards Hoyme.

"Meredith!" a voice ahead called, rushing towards them. "Meredith!"

"Derek?" Meredith shouted back.

"Hi," he said, breathing a little heavier than usual. "Can we walk?"

"Yeah sure," Meredith answered. "I'll catch up later guys," she informed her friends before going off with Derek. "What's up?" she asked, relaxing against a tree.

"Ok," Derek said, inhaling a little bit, "my mother's maiden name: Maloney. I have four sisters. I like coffee ice cream, single malt scotch, occasionally a good cigar. I like to fly-fish," he added quickly. "And I cheat when I do the crossword puzzle on Sunday. And I never dance in public." He paused, thinking for a couple of seconds. "Favorite novel: The Sun also Rises. Favorite band: the Clash. My favorite color is blue. I don't like light blue, indigo. You see the scar right here on my forehead?" He asked, pointing to the small scar there. "That's why I don't ride motorcycles anymore. So that's it. That's all you've earned for now. The rest, you're going to have to take on faith."

Meredith smiled and crashed her lips against his, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips. "Oh hang on," she said, pulling out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Sending a text to Ari, so she knows I'm going to be with you for a bit."  
>A few yards from the entrance of Hoyme, Arizona felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly read the message from Meredith. "Mer is going to be with Derek for awhile."<p>

"I'm going to chill with some soccer girls," Teddy said.

"Me too, " Cristina echoed.

"I guess I'll head back to Kildahl then," Callie said with a shrug, starting down the front steps.

"Calliope, wait," Arizona called after her. "Maybe we could revel in our cheerleader glory and watch Bring it On?"

A huge smile broke out onto Callie's face. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"Awesome," the blonde replied, holding her hand out for Callie as she returned the brunette's smile. They quickly walked up the stairs to Arizona's room. Of course they said they were just going to watch a movie, but both women knew better.

They had spent the whole night dancing and touching, and Callie simply couldn't take it anymore. Between the flirting before the dance and the grinding at the dance, she really could not hide how she felt, or the fire that burned inside her. "Ari," she whispered once they were safely inside the room.

"Yes Calliope?" Arizona asked, as she stepped closer to the Latina.

"May I kiss you?" Callie asked sweetly.

Arizona arched her eyebrows. "I think you already know the answer to that."

Taking that as a yes, Callie finally closed the gap between them, capturing the blonde's lips in a tender kiss. Her hands cupped Arizona's cheeks as their lips slid together. Gaining confidence, Callie flicked her tongue from her mouth, running along the blonde's bottom lip, seeking entrance into her mouth. Her hands traveled down Arizona's sides, gently massaging her skin. Their bodies were pressed flush against each other, the skin of their stomachs touching, and it was intoxicating.

Ari pulled away suddenly. "We really should put in that movie, Calliope."

Callie nodded, understanding that the blonde didn't want to go too fast. She didn't want to either. "Ok," she replied, smiling. She took a seat on the futon, waiting for Arizona to put in the DVD. Once she pressed play, Arizona joined Callie on the futon, curling into her arms. That was how they spent the rest of the night; wrapped up in each other, giggling at the movie, and stealing a few kisses here and there.

"Best night ever," Arizona whispered.

Callie placed a chaste kiss on the blonde's forehead. "Agreed."


	5. The Bitch of Living

A/N: Ok Man, I know that took a little while. These chapters are twice as long as the ones I write my other fics, so they can take forever to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Thank you for the reviews on this story…you guys are simply amazing.

Beta'd by Crazy4Callie

Happy Reading,

~KB~

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><p>Chapter 5: The Bitch of Living<p>

Callie woke suddenly to the sound of loud popping in her room. She nearly rolled off her lofted bed as a balloon popped near her head. "What the hell?" she whispered in the darkness of the room as another pop moved through the room. She grabbed her phone and checked the time, groaning at the numbers flashing on the screen. Six a.m. "Perfect," the Latina hissed as she began to climb out of her bed. The popping noises continued much to the Latina's dismay. She checked Cristina's bed and saw she wasn't there, but she did find a note.

_Roommate,_

_Happy Birthday. I hope your day is poppin._

_-Cristina_

"Well that explains the balloons," Callie muttered, turning around to her desk. She stretched in the early morning light as the sun rose and peaked though the branches of the trees outside. She was so thankful that today was Friday; it had been a long ass week. All week, she had been looking forward to this day, partly because it was her birthday, but partly because she just needed the week to end.

This week had just been brutal. Thanksgiving break was coming up, which meant Christmas Fest was coming up. The St. Olaf Christmas Festival, was one of the biggest events on the St. Olaf campus every year. The five audition choirs, including the two first year choirs, performed Christmas pieces accompanied by the St. Olaf Orchestra. In order to prepare, Callie had her usual rehearsals for Manitou Singers, the first year women's choir, and also mass choir rehearsals. Mass rehearsals involved all of the choirs to practice the pieces everyone would perform during those days.  
>"Fuck!" Callie cursed as she stepped on one of the popped balloons. She lifted her foot, finding a tack poking her slightly. She took the tack out and threw it on her desk. "And that explains why the balloons are popping." Callie shook her head, wondering how Cristina got the tacks inside the balloon, and tiptoed around the rest of the broken balloons to her shower caddy. She grabbed her towel off the little rack she and Cristina hung, before heading to the bathroom.<p>

Callie was pissed she was up so early. She didn't have class for hours, and didn't have breakfast with Ari until eight. Basically, she was up too early and was pissed because she had to pull a tack out of her foot. Cristina was a little insane, but Callie honestly enjoyed living with her. She was dedicated to her studies, so she wasn't always blowing it off and having people in the room, but she also knew how to have fun, even if she did go a little overboard on the tequila every once in awhile.

As she began to shower, a smile broke out onto Callie's face. She was definitely excited for her breakfast with Ari. Ever since Halloween, they'd been pretty much inseparable. Callie took the blonde out to dinner at Chapati, the local Indian restaurant, a couple of weeks ago. They had been having movie nights on the weekends. They had also been kissing. A lot.

Callie loved kissing Ari. She was gorgeous and seemed to fit perfectly in the brunette's arms. Her lips were unbelievably soft, her skin perfectly smooth. And her stomach…Callie closed her eyes at the thought. Ari was the sexiest woman alive in Callie's mind. They hadn't actually talked about whether or not they were official, but Callie felt pretty comfortable with the idea of Ari as her girlfriend. They behaved as such, and that's what she considered the blonde to be.

Finished showering, Callie headed back to her room to get dressed, taking care not to impale her foot on one of the tack-filled balloons. After slipping into her clothes for the day, the Latina checked the clock. She still had a half hour before she was supposed to meet Ari for breakfast. Curling up with her computer, she decided to watch part of an episode of Dexter on Netflix. She was actually introduced to Dexter by Cristina, who thought it was awesome. Callie found it to be very interesting; Ari didn't really get it.

After finishing a little less than half an episode, Callie grabbed all of her stuff she'd need for class and started the brief journey to Buntrock Commons. Buntrock, the student center, was extremely close to Callie's dorm, Kildahl. It only took her two minutes to cross the massive parking lot that formed the sea between the two buildings. She pulled open the doors that led to the first level of the building, crossing under the installed stars sparking on the ceiling forty feet off the ground. She quickly went up the stairs, taking a right towards Fireside, a common study and lounge area. It had a massive fireplace, hence the Fireside name.

She scanned the room, looking for Ari. She caught sight of her sitting in a chair near one of the windows. "Hey," Callie greeted the blonde, who had her nose buried in a biology book as per usual. "You ready to eat?"

Arizona looked up and smiled, putting her dimples on display, making Callie melt just a little. "Yeah, of course," she replied, standing up from her seat and tossing the book behind her. She walked with Callie up the stairs to the cafeteria, handing her ID to the person for them to scan.

Entering the caf, Arizona stood behind Callie in the Home line, waiting for eggs and hash browns. Her favorite. After getting her plate, Arizona went to the bread area to toast herself a bagel, while Callie waited in the short line for Belgian waffles. She met the Latina on the other side of the coffee wall. "Where do you want to sit?"

"Back booth by the window?" Callie offered.

"Sure," Arizona answered with a nod, following Callie as the brunette navigated them to the booth in question. She slid her plate onto the table and sat down across from the Latina, "So," Arizona said, taking a bite of her hash browns, "how has your morning been?"

"Well, I woke up an hour and a half early because Cristina blew up a bunch of balloons and put tacks in them, so they would pop randomly."

"She didn't!" the blonde exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh she did," Callie confirmed.

"Well, hopefully this will make you smile," Arizona said, pulling out a small box from her pocket. "Happy birthday, Calliope."

Callie smiled and shook her head. "I still can't believe I let you call me that, but since you're my girlfriend, I suppose it's ok," the Latina commented with a smirk. "Thank you for the gift, Ari."

"Open it!" she commanded excitedly.

"Ok, ok," Callie conceded, pulling the top off the box. She gasped as she lifted the necklace from its plush container. "Ari," she whispered, running her fingers over the diamond and yellow topaz tear drop pendant. "This is beautiful. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Arizona replied, grinning wildly. "It's the least I can do since everyone is too busy to get together tonight."

"This month sucks," the brunette declared. "And from her through December, I have no life."

"At least there's Thanksgiving break next week," Arizona said.

"That is true," Callie agreed. "I'm hoping my profs don't give me too much work during those few days." She glanced down at her phone, groaning at the time. "We have class," she said, getting up from the table. "Will I see you later this afternoon?"

"Of course," the blonde answered, gathering her things. "I'll be up in my room after classes."

"Ok. I'll stop by after I get off work," Callie responded as the placed their plates on the carousel, before walking back down to Fireside. Callie slung her bag onto her back. "I'll see you later," she said to the blonde, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, before walking towards her class.

Arizona stood with her bag hanging off her shoulder. She had American Conversations underneath the chapel this morning. AmCon, as it was called, was a program in which her father wanted her to participate. Arizona, apparently wasn't interested enough in American history and culture, or whatever bullshit justification he came up with that day. The only reason she didn't complain was because she received tons of Humanities general education requirements, which freed up her schedule for more science classes.

Sometimes it felt like her father was grooming her to become a politician or at least that's what he wanted. At one point, that's what Arizona thought she wanted too. She wanted to be governor just like her daddy. She wanted to be President, just like her daddy. What she truly wanted, however, was her father's approval. Timothy, her brother, could be the next war hero president.

She took her seat in AmCon, waiting for her classmates to start talking about mundane, uninteresting things. They were focusing on Utopia for the next couple of weeks, and she really just didn't care today. She was too wound up for tonight. Callie thought everyone was busy tonight, but actually Arizona had been planning this night out for the past few weeks. They were going up to the Cities tonight, with plans to eat out at Hell's Kitchen and go see the touring production of Spring Awakening, one of the Latina's favorite musicals.

Callie was going to flip out, and Arizona was so excited. She'd spaced out for most of the class and didn't even notice that she only had a couple minutes left, which was awesome. Once the class was officially over, Arizona practically bolted from the room, heading up the steps of Boe Memorial Chapel and crossing back into Buntrock.

"Hey Ari," she heard a voice call from behind her.

Spinning around, Arizona saw Meredith approaching her from a few paces behind. "Hi Meredith. Happy Friday," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," the other woman replied. "We still on for tonight?"

Arizona nodded. "Absolutely. Callie said she would stop by the room after she was done with classes, so I figured we would just leave from Hoyme. We only need two cars right?"

"Yep," Meredith nodded. "Mine and Mark's should do the trick."

"Ok, that sounds perfect. I'll see you at 5:30?"

"Yeah," Meredith replied, "I'll probably be in Derek's room before then."

Arizona nodded in understanding. "What class are you heading to?" she asked as she checked her mail.

"Chubby."

"Ouch," the blonde winced, thankful her section of that class met on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She really didn't want to deal with that today. "Well good luck with that. I'll catch you later," she said walking away.

"I hate Chubby," Meredith muttered under her breath as she continued to walk through the Commons. Cristina told her to pick her up at the Cage, the café in the building, before going to class that morning. Meredith hoped her friend remembered that, because she really didn't want to be late. She entered the small café, waiting in the short line to order a coffee. With the cup in hand, she turned to her right, where she saw Cristina working on some homework or something. She took a step towards her, but stopped as she saw Professor Burke, their Chubby instructor and advisor, slide a cup of coffee in front of her friend, who promptly looked up, smiling.

Meredith eyed the situation suspiciously as she approached her grinning friend. Cristina doesn't smile like that. Meredith had only known her for a few months, but she hardly saw Cristina smile, let alone grin like a fool. "You look happy," Meredith commented, startling the Korean woman.

Cristina immediately wiped the smile off her face. "I don't know what you're talking about," she defended, standing up with her bag.

"Care to explain why Professor Burke just gave you a coffee?" Meredith prodded as they began their walk over to Regents.

"He owed me," Cristina replied simply.

Meredith arched an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Beating his test."

"Uh huh," Meredith replied, unconvinced. "We'll pretend I believe you." She held open the door for her friend as they entered the large science palace. For someone who loved science, Regents was amazing. The building sprawled for what seemed like forever and had a clean, modern feel to it. It was definitely Meredith's favorite building on campus.

Following Cristina into their lecture room, they took their seats in the back corner of the room, like usual. Cristina smiled at her friend as she took out her iPad, where she took notes and/or played copious amounts of Angry Birds during class. She turned the device on, and began shooting birds across the screen as they waited for the lecture to begin. "Are we still going to the show tonight?" Cristina asked, as she launched another bird.

"Yeah," Meredith answered. "I talked to Ari a little bit ago. She said we're leaving from Hoyme around 5:30 or something."

"Sounds super," Cristina responded sarcastically, imitating Ari.

"Oh shut it," Meredith hissed as Burke entered the room. "The professor is here. Perhaps you should pay attention."

"Shh, I'm killing pigs, otherwise known as Mark Sloan," the brunette quipped, chuckling softly to herself as she did so. She relaxed as Burke began the morning's lecture, switching between her note taking app and Angry Birds. She had prepped pretty hard for this lecture over the past couple of days, and felt relatively comfortable with the material. Plus, Burke gave her coffee this morning, and it was Friday. Cristina was on cloud nine. She hoped Meredith backed off a little bit about Burke, but she couldn't get a read on the blonde. There wasn't anything officially going on between her and the professor…yet, but Cristina definitely wanted it, and from what she could tell, so did he.

She spent most of the lecture following the tall professor with her eyes, occasionally locking them with his as he scanned the room. Meredith seemed to be oblivious, especially after Cristina slid over her iPad to allow her to play for the remaining few minutes of the class. Once class was over, she gathered up her stuff, before turning to Meredith. "I'll see you at 5:30."

"You're not coming to hang out before lunch?" Meredith asked, confused as to why Cristina would blow off their typical chilling and lunch time.

"Nah," Cristina answered, shaking her head, "I'm going to do some studying here."

"Ok…" Meredith replied, still completely suspicious, but deciding it wasn't worth pressing Cristina about it.

Watching as Meredith left, Cristina slipped out of the room and down the long hallway to the lounge area on the floor. She waited until she saw Professor Burke walk by, his eyes locking with hers briefly, his gaze betraying his own passionate feelings. Taking that as her cue to follow, Cristina waited another minute before continuing down the hallway the secondary portion of the building. She entered his office, not bothering knocking, closing and locking the door behind her. Burke looked up from his desk, feigning a look of surprise at her presence. "Cristina?"

"Thanks for the coffee," she answered, moving so she was standing directly in front of him as he sat in his leather desk chair. She kind of smirked, wondering if he would make the first move, but after a few seconds she grew impatient. Finally, he put his hands on her slender waist, pulling her onto his lap so that she straddled him. He crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss; one Cristina eagerly accepted and returned with fervor. This was what she wanted, a man. She caressed the hardened muscles of his chest and arms, allowing herself to be swallowed in his passion for her mind, her talent, and her body.

* * *

><p>Arizona paced the floor of Mark Sloan's room, having a bit of a panic attack. "You have the tickets right?"<p>

"For the tenth time, Ari, they're right here!" Mark exclaimed exasperatingly as he pointed to his dress shirt pocket.

Arizona scoffed at Mark's annoyance. The only reason she made him keep the tickets was because Callie had been spending so much time in her room, that she probably would have found them easily. "I'm just a bit nervous ok?"

"I don't understand why," Mark replied honestly, not really getting where this was coming from. "She adores you."

"She called me her girlfriend at breakfast today," the blonde deadpanned.

Mark shrugged. "Well…aren't you?"

"We haven't really talked about it. I mean I suppose I am, but it's a little bit more complicated than that."

"It can't be that complicated," Mark countered.

"Oh it is," Arizona responded, grabbing her phone as it buzzed. She had a text from Callie who was apparently in her room, wondering where she was. "I have to go. Don't lose the tickets, Mark, or I'll find a brick and throw it at you," she said menacingly. Finished threatening him, she put on a smile, "I'll see you at 5:30."

"You got it," Mark called after her retreating form.

Arizona took the stairs two at a time as she made her way back to her room. She found Callie standing outside her door, staring at her phone. "Hey," she said, her hair bouncing slightly as she came to a stop next to the Latina. "How was your Friday?"

Callie surreptitiously wrapped her fingers in the fabric of Arizona's shirt. "It's been awesome. You see, my girlfriend got me this amazing necklace that I'm wearing right now, and I'm pretty sure she's going to give me kisses in just a few seconds."

Arizona's heart constricted at the use of the words girlfriend again. She was dating the gorgeous, perfect girl who had no idea who she was. It was a problem. "We need to talk," Arizona replied, dragging Callie into her room.

"Ok…" the Latina responded, a little unsure of what was going on, "That was not the reaction I was expecting…at all."

"Am I your girlfriend?" Arizona blurted.

"Uhh…"Callie stammered.

"It's just," Arizona interjected. "I've only known you for three months and I'm not really supposed to get involved with anyone."

"Funny," the brunette, interrupted, "you didn't seem to care about getting involved when we made out on Halloween."

"Yeah, but then we made out on Halloween, and almost every day since then, and we watch movies, and I buy you necklaces, and this morning you called me your girlfriend," Arizona finished in one breath. "I have things I need to tell you, things I shouldn't tell you, but that I have to tell you, so I need to know…am I your girlfriend?"

"Yeah!" Callie exclaimed, a smile dancing across her lips in spite of the underlying tension of the moment.

"Ok. Um, Callie, I'm…I'm…"

"Callie, get your ass downstairs!" Cristina shouted as she barged through the door with Meredith on her heels. She looked over the Latina, noticing that she was in jeans and a sweatshirt. "Well, first, put on a dress, then come downstairs."

"What is she talking about?" Callie asked, completely confused. "Why is she in heels? What is going on?"

"I may have lied about people being busy," Arizona confessed. "We're going up to the Cities tonight."

"Well I have to go to Kildahl to change."

Arizona shook her head. "No you don't," the blonde declared. "Your red dress is hanging in my wardrobe."

"Do I even want to know?" Callie asked as she entered their makeshift changing area in the second room of the triple. She pulled off her clothes, replacing them with the dress provided. She allowed the soft material of the dress to fall over her body, before sliding her feet into the black heels. It was cold today, but Callie didn't care at all. She loved this dress and she knew the blonde would have to pick her jaw up off the floor when she saw her.

Arizona swallowed as Callie returned to the main room. She looked absolutely stunning. "Wow," she whispered. "I'll um, be right back," she whispered as she scooted past Callie to the changing area. She put on her own knee length blue dress that she knew would set out her eyes. She reemerged, ready to go, and only a few minutes late. Her eyes locked with the russet ones belonging to her girlfriend. Girlfriend, Callie Torres was her girlfriend, and she didn't even know Arizona's name.

She brushed the thought from her mind as she approached Callie's side, deciding that she would just enjoy the evening she'd planned for the coolest person she'd met in a long time. She gave the Latina's hand a tender squeeze, before heading out the door behind Meredith and Cristina. They descended the stairs to the two cars parked out front. Teddy met up with them in the Lobby, following them out to the cars as they piled in for the drive to downtown Minneapolis.

After an hour or so in the car, the group exited the car in the parking garage, and walked the few blocks to Hell's Kitchen, a popular restaurant Downtown. There, everyone found what they wanted, including Arizona, who devoured a rack or BBQ ribs, much to Callie's surprise. Their dinner conversation was excellent, each member of the party telling some ridiculous stories of past birthdays. In the corner, was a bit of live music, which Callie really enjoyed.

"So are we heading back after this?" Callie asked.

"Um, not exactly," Arizona answered, hesitantly.

"Party at Meredith's?"

Arizona smiled, trying to contain the excitement bubbling inside her. "I got us tickets to Spring Awakening," she said excitedly, bouncing a little bit in her seat.

"All of us are going to Spring Awakening? Tonight?"

"Actually," Mark said, checking his watch, "in about five minutes."

"Seriously?" Callie nearly shouted.

"Yeah," Arizona answered.

"Can we go right now?" Callie asked, barely able to sit still.

"Yeah," the blonde laughed as she got up from the table. She briefly entwined her fingers with the Latina's, tugging Callie along behind her. She released the brunette's hand as they left the restaurant, allowing the evening air of the Minneapolis to engulf them. The group hurried over to the theater, only a block away, and checked in through the ushers. They entered the lower level of the theater, filing into their seats in the center section.

Callie squirmed in her chair. She couldn't believe this was happening; it was like a dream. She'd wanted to see this show since she heard about it a couple of years ago when it premiered on Broadway. Duncan Sheik, the one of the composers for the music, was one of her favorite 90s artists. This was bound to be amazing. She reached over and grasped the blonde's hand, flashing her a gigantic smile as she relaxed into her seat.

The show was fantastic. The music was flawless, and the actors did an amazing job. Callie was so excited she got to be a part of it, practically giggling like a school girl for the entire rid back to St. Olaf. After they parked outside of Hoyme, the group disembarked from the vehicle, shouting their goodbyes to each other, leaving only Callie and Arizona in front of the dorm.

"You uh, wanna go for a walk?" Arizona asked, motioning with her head towards the sidewalks leading towards the center of campus.

"Yeah," Callie answered with a smile.

"Ok," the blonde said with a nod as they began to walk through the darkened campus. The passed Melby, an older upperclassmen door, before crossing underneath the windchimes, and heading in the direction of Old Main. On the weekends it was the quietest part of campus, and provided the slight privacy Arizona needed to have this conversation with Callie. The entire night she had been watching the Latina smile and enjoying her as the person she was, meanwhile feeling completely guilty about her own secrets. Her father be damned; she'd deal with him later, but she couldn't hide anymore, not from Callie. "Calliope," she said, stopping in front of the Old Main steps, "I really need to tell you something."

"OK, but first, I just want to say thank you for the best birthday, ever. You. Are. Great. Ari James," Callie gushed.

Arizona shook her head in frustration and sadness. "My name isn't Ari James."

Callie stared at her dumbfounded; this made no sense. "What are you talking about?"

"My name is Arizona Robbins," the blonde confessed. "My father is President Colonel Daniel Robbins."


	6. These Are My Confessions

A/N: So I don't know how long it's been since I updated, and I'm sort of afraid to look to be honest. For those of you who may not have read the A/N at the end of CMD, I was/am burnt out. I started writing my novel…book…thing, and it's going as well as can be expected, but I did miss writing my fics. I cannot say how often I will update; the urge sort of comes in waves. But I did just want to say that the occasional review, alerts, and favorites, really helped to remind me that people were reading this and you all wanted more. As much as I write for my own enjoyment, sometimes it's you all that really give me the shove I need to get going. My stories belong to you just as much as they do to me because of your constant reminding that you're here, waiting, and wanting. I appreciate that kind of support more than I can ever express.

Thank you so much.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

p.s. Thank you to Skones for being my beta tonight, since my usual one (Crazy4Callie) was unavailable. You're the best.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: These Are My Confessions<p>

_"Excuse me what?" Callie asked, her eyes widening and mouth dropping open in shock. "Did you just say that you're…?"_

_"The president's daughter, yes," Arizona interrupted, sitting down on the steps of the old building, and running her hands through her hair. "I just wanted to tell you becau…"_

_"because of what? " the Latina shouted, cutting off Arizona._

_Arizona took a deep breath. "Because I like you so much and I couldn't let us continue this path we're on without you knowing about my family."_

_"You lied to me," the Latina accused._

_Arizona nodded. "I did not tell you the truth."_

_"Don't play a game of semantics with me," Callie retorted, the frustration growing in her tone._

_"I don't want to play games, Callie. I just want you," the blonde confessed._

_"Ari," Callie said tenderly, before confusion crossed her face. "Ariz…God, I don't even know what to call you anymore!" she yelled, turning away to walk back up the path towards the center of campus._

_Arizona launched off the steps, running up the lamp lit sidewalk. "Calliope," she shouted, breathing heavily as she chased the brunette. "Calliope, please wait," she begged as she caught the Latina's wrist._

_Callie begrudgingly turned around. "What?"_

_"Please just talk to me," she pleaded._

_"What is there to talk about, Arizona?" the brunette spat angrily. "You lied to me about who you are."_

_"I lied to you about my name, Callie," Arizona corrected. "You know who I am."_

_Callie raised her eyebrows. "Do I? Do I really?"_

_"Yes," the blonde replied emphatically. "I'm the same girl you met a couple of months ago. Everything I told you has been true, with the exception of my name."_

_"I just need some time. Give me a little time," Callie whispered softly as she turned away._

_"Calliope," Arizona called out after the retreating woman, her voice laced with desperation._

_"I'll keep your secret, Ari, Arizona," the Latina replied evenly. "You don't have to worry about that."_

_Arizona shook her head. "I'm not; I'm worried about us and what this means."_

_"It means I need time," Callie shrugged. "I can't give you any answers right now, so just give me a minute."_

_"Ok," the blonde agreed. "I'll give you the space you need."_

Arizona collapsed against the soft cushions of her bed. That conversation had taken place nearly three weeks ago, and there was still no real discussion about where she and Callie stood. Of course, a lot of that had to do with Thanksgiving break happening last week and Christmas Fest taking over Callie's life this week. That still didn't make the silence between them any easier to swallow, but it was comforting to know that she hadn't really been talking to anyone because she had such a busy week.

Thanksgiving break had been hell for her. There were White House functions, and she didn't even see her father except for a few minutes. Not to mention the fact that it was announced that Timothy, her brother and best friend, would be deployed nearly directly after his graduation from the Naval Academy in the spring. With Callie not talking to her, Timothy getting ready to put his life on the line, and the Colonel being more absent than ever, it was hard to find anything for which she could be thankful. Arizona knew she was being dramatic; she understood that she was a very privileged individual, but in the immediacy of her day to day life, she wasn't very enthusiastic about much. She could tell her mother was a bit worried, but there simply wasn't time for them to have a sit down discussion because of the commitments they had over the course of the beginning of the Holiday Season.

Now, she was back on campus, back in her own little Ari James bubble, where none of the chaos of Washington DC could touch her. She had to admit that at times being Ari James was preferable to being Arizona Robbins. If she could, Arizona would probably just stay in Minnesota until her father was done being the most powerful man in the world. Truthfully, she was not looking forward to the next two years. They would start campaigning again and she would have to be more careful than ever, not only of her identity at school, but also of her new life leaking into the one she shared with her parents.

This week had been rough to say the least. Finals were creeping up on everyone, making Thanksgiving break less of a break and more of a time for catch up, and other school laden tasks. Returning to campus meant dealing with the harsh reality of having no life for the next two weeks. She'd made it through one of them, but only barely it seemed. Her plans for the weekend consisted of writing two short papers and reading one hundred pages for American Conversations. She was supposed to go to Christmas Fest tonight, but Arizona didn't know if she would go through with it. She shut her eyes in frustration as she beat her fists into the mattress underneath her. Why couldn't this be simple? She had no idea what she was doing.

"Wanna talk about it?" Teddy asked, entering the room and taking a seat at the desk.

"It's nothing," Arizona replied as she sat up, running a hand through her blonde tresses.

Teddy raised her eyebrows. "I don't believe you for a second, Ari James."

The blonde heaved a heavy sigh. She and Teddy had become extremely close over the course of the semester, so to hear her utter the false words of her taken identity felt like a knife scraping across her insides. She hated lying with a passion and she was terrible at it, a fact which she never hoped to correct. "Teddy, I'm really stupid."

"I highly doubt that," the other woman snorted. "You're one of the smartest people I know."

"Just come over here," Arizona said, patting the side of the side of her bed.

Teddy smiled as she crossed the room in a few short steps, and climbed onto the bed next to her friend. "You gonna show me something?"

"Yeah," the blonde sighed. She logged onto her actual facebook, taking a sigh of preparation, before handing Teddy the laptop. She held her breath as her friend took the computer, her eyes scanning the screen.

Teddy's eyes widened. "This girl looks just like you, Ari."

Looking at the ceiling, a tear escaped her eyes. "She is me. I am her."

"Wait," Teddy said, her eyes returning to the facebook page. "You're Arizona Robbins. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yes," the blonde nodded.

"So you're Dad is…"

"The president of the United States of America," Arizona finished for her friend, before falling back onto the mattress.

"Well fuck," Teddy said, falling next to her, "I don't even know what to do with that information."

"You're not mad?" Arizona questioned in surprise.

Teddy shrugged. "I mean, it's not like I'm thrilled you lied to me, and I feel like I know nothing about you, but I've only known you for a couple of months, so I always feel like I know nothing about you."

"Ok," the blonde replied hesitantly.

Teddy turned onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. "You told Callie didn't you?"

"Yeah," Arizona sighed. "I told her on her birthday. She didn't take it as well as I would have hoped, but I didn't want to keep her in the dark any more you know? I really really liked her and she didn't even know my real name."

"Have you talked to her since?" Teddy asked.

Arizona shook her head. "Not really. We've done meals and stuff with the five of us and Mark and Derek, but other than those brief moments of conversation, we haven't spoken, and we certainly haven't spoken about that night."

"Well, I don't know if it helps, but there was Thanksgiving break last week, and I've hardly seen her this week, so there hasn't been that much opportunity," the other woman said, hoping she was right and that Callie wasn't just going to never speak to Arizona.

"I know I know," Arizona responded, knowing it was the truth. "I just like her a lot, you know? And I have no idea what's going on in her head."

"Well Mark has said nothing, so I don't think she's talking to anyone about it," Teddy shrugged.

Arizona smirked at Teddy's slip about Mark. "What's with you two anyway?"

"Who?" Teddy asked, feigning ignorance.

The blonde swatted her friend on the arm. "You and Mark, genius."

"We're….getting to know each other."

Arizona snorted. "Yeah ok."

"We're not together, if that's what you're asking," Teddy said defensively. "We're messing around, I suppose. Dating or whatever."

"Uh huh," Arizona said skeptically as she played with the fibers of her blanket.

"So…" Teddy began awkwardly, "about the really important part of this conversation…"

"Yes?"

"What do I call you? Are you going to tell everyone?"

Arizona took a deep breath; she never really considered the effects of other people knowing. "Well I think I will tell Cristina and Meredith soon, but not Mark or Derek. I'm not really friends with them, and Mark is just an awful gossip."

"That's true," Teddy agreed with a gentle chuckle.

"And I honestly would rather you called me Arizona when we aren't out and about. If we're just hanging out, then Arizona is just fine. Whenever we're around people, though, call me Ari."

The other woman nodded. "That makes sense, so _Arizona,_" Teddy said, drawing out the name, "what are you up to tonight?"

The blonde frowned. "I should write this stupid paper, but I think I'm going to Christmas Fest instead."

"So many people," Teddy shuddered.

Arizona shrugged. "Well, Callie's singing in Manitou, so I want to be there to support her."

"So you're going to corner her then?" Teddy asked playfully.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I just want to talk, and she's usually in a good mood after a performance."

Teddy was about to open her mouth to say something, when Meredith all but barreled through the door with Cristina right on her tail. "What's up bitches?" the Asian woman called out as she narrowly avoided crashing into Meredith's desk.

"Hey guys," Arizona said happily. "What are you up to?"

"We just got back from dinner," Meredith answered.

"Yeah, and we just got done staring at some woman who looks exactly like the First Lady," Cristina added.

Arizona's muscles tensed as she froze. She looked at Teddy, who seemed to also become a bit nervous, before returning her gaze to the two women on the other side of the room. "Excuse me what?"

"There's a woman downstairs, who looks like the First Lady," Meredith repeated.

"Your mom is downstairs, is what we're saying," Cristina said, albeit somewhat hesitantly because she didn't know how this conversation was going to go.

Arizona sighed, shaking the curls from her face. "How long have you known?"

Meredith and Cristina looked at each other and shrugged. "Long enough."

"Awesome," the blonde muttered, jumping down from her bed. She walked over to the door, preparing to go down the stairs to find her mother. She turned over her shoulder, facing the three women still in the room. "I know I don't have to say this, but only four students on this campus know of my true identity, and I really like not having secret service agents crawling all over the place, so please…don't tell anyone."

"Of course not."

"We would never do that."

"I already I told you I wouldn't."

Arizona nodded. "Thanks," she replied simply, before closing the door behind her and descending the stairs to the lobby of the dorm. She saw her mother talking to the desk receptionist, and instantly became anxious. She was dressed in a floor length black dress, with her long, blonde hair cascading down her upper back in golden waves, the gentle wisps of hair framing her age worn face beautifully. Arizona was no dummy, she knew her mother was striking, even as she aged. She was also fierce as hell, however, and she had been known to make grown men quake in their boots. To Arizona, however, Barbara Robbins was her kind, caring, and loving mother, no matter how intimidating and terrifying she may be. "Mom?" she called out to the woman standing ten feet from her.

Barbara Robbins turned around, smiling at her daughter. "Ariz..Ari!" she exclaimed, walking forward to embrace Arizona in a hug. "Hi."

"Hi, Mom," Arizona whispered. "What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?"

"I came for Christmas Fest," the older blonde answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"How did you get tickets?" the blonde asked, surprised her mother had accomplished such a feat. Christmas Fest tickets were hard to come by, and to her knowledge, her mother had not been planning to come out to Minnesota.

Barbara shrugged. "I reserved them awhile ago, just in case I decided to come, but I did have to pull a few strings to get an extra one."

Arizona's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. "For whom? Did Jen come with you?"

"Sorry to disappoint," a man said from the doorway, "it's just me."

"Timothy?" the blonde squealed, running into her brother's arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to Christmas Fest," he deadpanned, straightening his tie. "And the only way for Mom to come out here sans the entire secret service was to bring along her defense trained, almost commissioned officer in the Marines."

"Ok, just let me go find a dress, and we can head down to Skoglund," Arizona said, before rushing up the stairs to her room. She grabbed a black dress hanging in her wardrobe and slipped it over her head. After making sure she looked presentable, Arizona zipped from her room, grabbing her coat on the way and mumbling goodbyes to her friends. She rejoined her mother and brother in the lobby, thankful most people were out eating dinner or in the library.

"You look nice, Ariz…" Her brother started, but stopped. "Ari," he corrected.

"Thanks," the blonde replied with a smile. Mrs. Robbins offered her daughter a small smile as she looped her arm through her son's, signaling for Arizona to do the same. The three of them gallantly strode down the hill towards Skoglund, eager to enjoy a night together. They passed their tickets to an usher, who promptly showed them to their seats in the center of the floor.

Arizona marveled at the beautiful decorations adorning the space, which doubled as the college's gymnasium as well. At the moment, however, it was impossible to detect that small detail given the streamers, art, and backdrop lavishly placed in the room. The risers on the stage in front of her looked impossibly high as they rose behind the St. Olaf Orchestra. She waited impatiently for the event to begin, wanting nothing more than to hear the gorgeous tones of the various choirs ring through the room.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the choirs entered the room, surrounding the floor section, and singing the first piece. Arizona couldn't believe how beautiful they all sounded. They were phenomenal. She scanned the faces for Callie's, but she couldn't find her. It wasn't until they began to ascend the risers on the stage that she was able to catch a glimpse of the Latina. Callie took the steps to the stage, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned to the crowd. Her brown eyes locked with Arizona's piercing blue ones, causing a shiver to run down the blonde's spine.

Callie's heart skipped a beat as her eyes found Arizona's. She didn't know if the blonde could see her as well, but Callie instantly felt her chest become tighter. She and Arizona hadn't talked much since Callie's birthday. Thanksgiving Break was a welcome distraction at the time, as it had given the Latina time to think about and process the information given to her by Arizona. By the time she had returned from Miami, she was ready to talk everything out, but Christmas Fest owned her life. She had hardly seen anyone this entire week with the exception of the occasional meal with everyone. Not having the blonde in her everyday life had been horribly challenging for the past few weeks, but Callie was grateful for the time it afforded her to think. Now, she was more sure than ever of what she wanted.

She wanted Arizona Robbins.

Arizona Robbins was the same girl as Ari James, the girl by whom she was instantly captivated on their first day of college. It had taken her awhile to get there, but Callie knew now that she wanted a relationship with the blonde. They would have to start over, but they had hardly begun in the first place. If she was truthful, she was definitely more than a little excited. The stories she was sure Arizona had would be amazing to hear. They had everything out on the table, well almost everything. Callie hadn't confessed to her own family's wealth, but in her opinion that was a much less deal compared to Arizona's different kind of national importance.

Seeing the small smile cross Arizona's face, Callie closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began to sing.

The notes floating through the room captivated every ounce of Arizona's attention. She couldn't keep the smile from her face as the festival progressed. It was different than what she expected. Arizona figured the whole evening would be a gigantic concert, and part of it was, but it was also interactive. At points the entire audience stood to sing traditional advent hymns like O Come All Ye Faithful, and Joyful Joyful. There also were readings from Matthew. It really felt more like a church service at times, which was very true to St. Olaf's Norwegian Lutheran tradition. It was a great experience and she could tell her family enjoyed it as well.

Just when she thought the night couldn't become any more magical, the group descended so they once again surrounded the audience on the middle portion of the floor. The trademark song of the vocal program, Beautiful Savior, rang out over the crowd. Callie's position was literally right next to Arizona, so there was no way for them to avoid each other, and truthfully, Arizona had no interest in ignoring the Latina. She brushed her eyes over the body covered by the long robe, the thick material hiding Callie's body from her gaze. When their eyes met, it was a connection Arizona couldn't begin to describe. She felt like the brunette was singing to her, singing for her. Her heart rate soared, her palms tingled, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Arizona's heart skipped as Callie flashed her a smirk before she walked out of the room with the rest of the choir members. The blonde was so lost in their little staring war and the sensations she felt from it, that she didn't recall standing and clapping or the very end of the program at all. Callie had completely taken over her thoughts to the point where even attempting to focus on anything else would be futile.

"Arizona!" Tim shouted.

"Huh? What?" Arizona asked, jumping a little bit.

"We're getting ready to leave, sis," he pointed out to his sister, making sure he said it slowly so she would get it.

"I'm not an imbecile," the blonde scoffed, grabbing her things and standing up.

"No," Timothy agreed, "you're just making goo-goo eyes and therefore have lost your capacity to process any information."

Arizona turned and glared. "Shut up, Tim."

"Children," Barbara playfully chided, stepping up behind them as they walked back towards the doors.

"Did you enjoy it, Mom?" Arizona asked, slipping through the crowd of people.

"Very much," Barbara answered. "It was definitely a trip down memory lane."

"I'm so glad you came. It was an amazing surprise."

Barbara enveloped her daughter in a warm hug. "Good. That was the point." She raised her eyebrows. "So who is this girl?"

"Ari! Ari!" Arizona heard a voice yell over the crowd.

Arizona whirled around towards the voice. "Callie?" She shouted as she saw a glimpse of raven hair bobbing and weaving through the crowd.

"Hey," Callie breathed, approaching the Robbins family. "Oh," she said, gasping lightly as she realized exactly who was standing there. "Oh…_Mrs. James,_" she emphasized, trying to keep her cool, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Mom," Arizona gestured towards the brunette, "this is Callie Torres, my um…"

"Her girlfriend," Callie finished, offering her hand to the First Lady.

Timothy coughed and Barbara looked noticeably shocked. "Girlfriend?" she asked.

"Um yeah. We've been together for a few weeks," Arizona confirmed.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Callie. I hope to see more of you in the future. Great job tonight," Barbara said warmly, before turning towards Arizona. "Ari, I'm due back home. I'm so glad we got to spend this time together. Callie, I'm also glad we got to meet." She stepped forward and dropped a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Take care, sweetie."

"I love you, Mom. Thanks for coming, you too Tim."

"You're welcome, sis," he replied, gathering his sister in his arms. "I'll see you at Christmas."

"Thanks for coming. I'll see you soon," the blonde replied. "Bye!" she called after them as they walked towards their car.

Callie leaned over to whisper in Arizona's ear. "I just met the first lady."

Arizona turned into Callie's arms. "You just called me your girlfriend."

"I did," the Latina said with a smile. "Walk with me?" she asked softly. "I have to return my robe."

"Of course," the blonde returned, looping her fingers through Callie's. They walked up the stairs from Skoglund, to the main portion of campus, their arms swinging gently. "So, I take it you're OK with all of this?" Arizona asked hesitantly as they approached the chapel.

Callie stopped moving. "I'm not thrilled that you lied to me, and for the longest time, I felt like I had no idea who you were. Are you Ari James or Arizona Robbins?" the Latina answered honestly. "I thought about this for the entirety of break, and I came to the conclusion that you're both. You disguise your name to hide your family's identity, and I get that. But that story you told me about Caitlin on your birthday; that was real. I know that everything I have discovered about you as a person has been the real deal, and the truth is I just met you, so I have no idea who you are anyway, but I decided that I want to you, Ari, _Arizona,_" she whispered the blonde's true name. "I really do. And I want you to know me, which reminds me, I have to tell you that I'm sort of an heiress, and my father might have donated a lot of money to your dad's campaign and I ho…"

Arizona couldn't keep the smile off her face as she embraced Callie in a tight hug, cutting off the Latina's ramble. She'd missed the good friend she'd made, the lover she hoped she would be, and just the amazing woman that was Callie Torres. She pulled back slightly, her eyes gazing into the soulful brown ones of her girlfriend. Their noses brushed, their lips barely touched, sending shivers through both of their bodies. Arizona smirked playfully as her fingers toyed with the delicate wisps of hair on the back of the Latina's neck. She closed the gap between them, her eyes fluttering closed as the sensation of pure bliss coursed through her. This kiss was the start of something new to them, a relationship with no secrets, and all the promise in the world. And they just took their first step together.


	7. Baby It's Cold Outside

A/N: OMG it's been so long. I'm really sorry for the long wait on this. Thankfully, though, I think I'm finally starting to get my groove back. I can't promise weekly updates, but a wait like this one shouldn't be happening again. You peeps are amazing! So amazing, in fact, that I will be giving you a gift relatively soon. What is this gift you might ask? It's a .pdf of all my fics, both published and unpublished, complete with little goodies, like soundtracks, and the entire key to Things Fall Apart, as well as a other things I haven't thought of yet. So yeah…look forward to that. OH! And send me questions you want answered, I'll include those as well.

This chapter is unbeta'd because I rushed it, and my boo was at work _. So forgive the mistakes.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

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><p>Chapter 7: Baby It's Cold Outside<p>

"I can't believe it's snowing," Callie declared, shivering as she walked to her next class.

Arizona, who walked next to her, shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's the middle of December and we're in Minnesota, of course it's snowing."

The Latina pouted. "This time of year the weather is still amazing in Miami."

"Well it's a good thing you'll be back there in just a few hours," the blonde replied cheekily.

Callie groaned and wrapped her arms around Arizona, gently pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'd rather stay in the cold and snow if that means I get to stay with you."

"Aww you really mean that?"

"Of course I do, Arizona," the brunette replied.

Arizona smiled devilishly as they continued to walk down the snow covered path. Feeling Callie's arms still wrapped around her, the blonde turned her body, and pushed them towards the snow. Before Callie knew what was happening, she was flat on her back in a pile of snow. The blonde just started laughing, rolling over so she rested on top of the Latina in the snow. "I'm sorry," she said through her giggles, "I just couldn't resist."

"You're lucky I like you a little bit," Callie said as she snuck a handful of snow behind Arizona's back.

The blonde tilted her head playfully. "Only a little bit?"

At that moment, the Latina crushed the snow against Arizona's blonde locks, erupting into a fit of laughter at the look of shock that crossed her girlfriend's face. "That was priceless."

"You ruined my hair," Arizona huffed, shaking the snow from her tresses.

Callie brushed a strand of hair from the blonde's face, her heart swelling at the tenderness of the moment. The setting winter sun illuminated Arizona's hair in the most beautiful way, the twinkling snowflakes making her blue eyes all the more captivating. Since their reconciliation just a couple of weeks ago, Callie felt herself falling hard and fast. She could feel her feelings spiraling out of control, but she was powerless to stop them. Every moment she spent with Arizona disarmed the Latina just a bit more, sending her into a tailspin.

Arizona almost flinched from the intensity she found in the dark pools of Callie's eyes. Sometimes their eyes would lock and her breath would catch in the surprising amount of emotion she found behind the russet brown she loved so much. Seeing the depth of Callie's feelings so soon would have caused her to run if she hadn't felt them herself. Between the two months of dancing around their developing feelings and the three weeks of thinking and questioning before Christmas Fest, Arizona had never been more secure in her feelings. She could fall in love with Callie; hell, she was already on her way.

"What are you thinking about?" Callie asked in a soft whisper.

"You," she answered simply.

The Latina arched her eyebrows. "Care to expound?"

"Nah," Arizona answered, putting her head on Callie's chest. "I can't tell you everything that's on my mind this early. I have to withhold something."

"You're already withholding something," Callie grumbled.

"Calliope Torres!" Arizona admonished, slapping the brunette on the arm. "You better watch it."

Callie laughed, wrapping her arms tighter around the blonde, pulling her into an intimate hug. She sighed. "This whole Christmas Break thing is really starting to piss me off. We just got started and we're already being separated again."

"I know," Arizona sighed. "We'll talk though, right?"

"Duh!" the Latina answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm going to miss you a lot," the blonde confessed.

Callie nodded. "Me too."

"My ears are cold."

"Come on," the brunette said, pushing on Arizona's small frame, so she would get up. "We have to go to dinner anyway. The rest of the crew is probably waiting very impatiently."

"Fine," Arizona sighed, getting off Callie and wading her way back through the snow to the sidewalk. She held out her hand for the brunette to take. Callie laced her fingers through the blonde's happily, swinging their arms dramatically as they walked down the path, eliciting more than a few giggles from Arizona. They entered the Commons, turning left to go into Fireside, and found Cristina, Meredith, and Teddy, predictably not so patiently waiting.

"Finally," Cristina sighed, her surly pout coming out in full force.

"What took you guys so long anyway?" Teddy asked, her hands tucked neatly into the pocket of her jeans. "And why are you covered in snow?"

Arizona looked over at her girlfriend, a smirk playing on her lips. She returned her gaze to Teddy, wearing the same playful smile. "It's snowing outside."

"Uh huh," the three friends responded in unison, not buying that story for a second.

"Shall we?" Callie asked, gesturing to the stairs leading up to the cafeteria.

"Yes, we need to feed the wild animal before she implodes," Meredith agreed, nodding towards Cristina.

The group started to laugh, much to Cristina's chagrin who glared at all of them. "I can start growling if that will make you geniuses move faster."

Callie rolled her eyes. "Patience is a virtue, Cristina," she replied, before turning towards the stairs. The group walked up to the cafeteria, chattering away amicably despite the usual confrontation between the two Kildahl roommates. Callie and Cristina shared a unique bond. Both fiercely independent and strong willed, they often butted heads, but more often than not they got along.

The group entered the cafeteria, gliding through the short lines quickly, and navigating themselves towards the seating area. They headed towards their favorite round table on the second floor in the back corner. Since Finals were nearly over, the usual crowd had dissipated, leaving much less competition for eating space.

"I'm so glad I'm going to be in California tomorrow," Cristina declared as she relaxed into her seat.

"Yeah," Callie agreed, "Miami is looking pretty nice right about now."

"What about you, Arizona?" Teddy asked, not afraid to use the blonde's given name since so few were around. "What is your family doing for Christmas?"

"My dad is going to be busy as always, but I'll go back to D.C. for a few days, and then once Tim gets home, we'll all go to Camp David for a few days."

"That sounds nice," Callie said, before taking a forkful of her pasta.

"It is," Arizona nodded, "but sometimes I just wish we could have Christmas like a normal family. Don't get me wrong, I like living in the White House and I am so proud of my father, but I miss spending Christmas in Chicago with a normal sized tree."

"I can imagine it would get old after awhile," Meredith offered.

"Kind of yeah. But I'd love to take you guys home with me some time."

"Really?"

"Are you serious?"

"Can we ride on Airforce One?" Cristina asked excitedly.

Arizona chuckled at her friends' enthusiasm. "Logistically it'd be very difficult, but I think we could pull off a trip to D.C. for all of us at some point."

"And Airforce One?"

Arizona rolled her eyes, giving Cristina a pointed look. "How else would we get home?"

"Sweet!"

They continued to chatter back and forth, reveling in the feeling of the beginning of Christmas Break. It had been an interesting semester for the five women. From new classes to finding friends to falling in love, they'd experienced it all. They'd certainly earned some down time spent with their families, though they probably preferred to stay on campus with each other over anything else, but that wasn't exactly an option. Instead, they were all homeward bound, much to the chagrin of most of them.

After the conclusion to their meal, everyone said their goodbyes and parted ways. Meredith and Cristina had their Chubby final in the morning, which Arizona assured them wasn't _that _bad, though Meredith remained entirely unconvinced. Teddy had a late flight back to Texas that evening, so she was already heading towards the airport. Callie's flight wasn't until the next morning, so she and Arizona spent the remainder of the evening curled up on the blonde's futon, watching old movie favorites.

"Have I told you today how beautiful you are?" the Latina asked, smiling at her girlfriend.

Arizona blushed as she shook her head. "No."

"I think you should come home to Miami with me," Callie said, trying to convince the blonde.

Arizona frowned and placed a loving kiss on the brunette's cheek. "I wish I could."

The brunette smiled and tilted her head playfully, drawing Arizona in for a less than chaste kiss. She sighed against the soft, pink lips of her girlfriend, allowing herself to be swept up in the emotion of physically connecting with her. Once she felt Arizona's tongue swipe teasingly against her own, Callie thought she might actually lose all control. She abruptly pulled away from the blonde, eliciting a pouting protest from one Arizona Robbins. "I'm sorry," Callie breathed, her breath coming in short pants.

"Why did you stop?" Arizona asked, still pouting full force.

Callie caressed the blonde's cheek. "Because…I didn't want things to get out of hand. We've talked about it and we're waiting for a bit, so I want to respect that because I respect you, but I'm just really horny and you're so hot, and sexy, and you drive me cra…."

Arizona cut off her rambling girlfriend with a searing kiss, making both their heads swim. The blonde sighed deeply into the kiss, as Callie tugged on her hair in the playful way she knew Arizona loved. The Latina had a point, Arizona concluded, this whole waiting business was becoming a serious problem. She knew that they probably should wait just a little bit longer, instead of giving into their intense physical attraction, but it was proving itself to be difficult.

Arizona was so tightly wound that if she just grinded with Callie for a little bit, she could probably cum. Any touch from her dark haired girlfriend burned pleasurably through her, igniting a fire deep within. She wanted so badly to give in, to surrender to that which her body so desperately begged. She'd had sex before, with a couple of girls in high school, but without even touching her, Callie made her feel so much…more.

The Latina pushed Arizona down onto the couch, pressing their bodies together. In the two weeks where making out had become standard, this was probably the farthest they'd gone. It'd taken a lot of self control, and Arizona knew they probably should stop, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Callie's hands were everywhere, driving the blonde crazy. She writhed underneath her, seeking some sort of friction to give her release.

She arched into the brunette's arms as Callie touched a sensitive spot. A moan escaped her swollen lips; the sound alone nearly causing Callie to lose all control. "Arizona," she breathed as the blonde reached underneath her shirt. Her senses were completely overwhelmed, each touch of the blonde's fingers sending electricity straight to her core. This wasn't good. "Arizona," she tried again.

"Hmm?" the blonde looked up through her hooded eyelids, her fingers undoing Callie's bra underneath her shirt.

"You're taking off my clothes."

"I know," Arizona responded, tugging at the bottom of Callie's shirt. "I just want to feel you."

Callie blushed. "Um…"

"Just go with it," she whispered, pulling the shirt over Callie's head and discarding her bra.

Callie arched an eyebrow as she watched Arizona remove her own top and bra. "This is new."

Arizona shrugged. "I suppose," she answered, before pulling the brunette into a passionate kiss. She pulled away after a few seconds, and hugged the Latina close. Relishing the feel of Callie's naked torso against her own, Arizona sighed against the bare skin of the brunette's shoulder, and placed a gentle kiss against it. "I just want to lay with you," the blonde confessed. "Is that ok?"

Callie's expression softened as she grinned. She could still feel the evidence of her own arousal, but she was doing her best to push it from her mind. She wanted more than frantic sex on a futon with Arizona, and the moment they were currently sharing was by far the most intimate she had shared with anyone. With Erica, their relationship had involved mostly sexual exploration as they each figured out their attraction to women. The deep, intimate feelings like what she felt for Arizona had been lacking.

She couldn't help but smile as the blonde continued to gaze questioningly up at her. Callie leaned down to press a tender kiss against Arizona's lips, gently caressing her cheek as she did so. "Of course," she replied. "Do you want to sleep in my bed?"

Arizona nodded. "I'd like that."

"OK," Callie answered, standing up from the futon. She reached for her shirt, but Arizona grabbed her hand.

"Leave it off," she commanded, a little more strongly than she meant to. When Callie arched her eyebrows, the blonde continued, "You're so warm."

"Uh huh," the Latina responded, chuckling a little.

"And you have nice boobs."

Callie laughed outright at Arizona's little confession, before pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheek. "Thank you. You have nice boobs too."

Smiling and laughing, they climbed into Callie's twin bed, and pulled up the covers. Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona's waist and kissed her neck sweetly just before they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>Cristina disembarked from her plane, her feet tapping against the soft linoleum of LAX. She maneuvered through the throngs of people heading to their gates, and made her way to the baggage claim. After she collected her bag, Cristina walked towards the doors to meet the driver. Her mother always sent a driver instead of picking her up or taking her to the airport. It gave their relationship an extra step of detachment, though when she was home, the woman smothered the crap out of her. She constantly asked Cristina questions about her life, none of which she had any desire to answer. They were mostly inquires about parts of her life Cristina purposely tried to hide from their mother. Things like her relationship with one of her professors.<p>

Nodding to the suit clad man holding her sign, Cristina flashed her ID, and proceeded to the waiting town car. She closed her eyes as she relaxed into the dark, leather seat. Her music blared through her ears, a mixture of hard rock and europop. The euro shit was Meredith's taste, and not something Cristina would ever listen to, but spending so much time with her broody best friend, exposed her to Meredith's odd sadness remedy: Euro techno shit.

As the driver steered them through the streets towards Cristina's Beverly Hills home, she looked out the window, and watched the buildings pass them by. The buzz of the city faded into the posh style of Beverly Hills that Cristina called home. The driver, whose name she didn't know, but liked to think of as "Alfred", pulled into the driveway to her massive home. Waving the man off, she grabbed her suitcase, and walked through the back door to her home.

"Cristina?" She heard her mother call from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

Not bothering to answer, Cristina continued to the basement, where her area of the house was located. After having to endure many awkward conversations with her mother on the topic of sex, drugs, and alcohol, she somehow managed to squirrel her way into having an area of the house to herself. Her mother and stepfather, Saul, had their bedroom on the complete opposite side of the sprawling property.

"Cristina?" she heard the voice of her mother ask again. Ignoring her, Cristina collapsed onto one of the couches in the living area of the basement. She really didn't want to deal with this. If she had her way, she and Meredith would be chilling in Northfield at the moment getting drunk on tequila and dancing it out. But her mother just had to see her. "Cristina!"

"What?" she finally snapped.

Helen Rubenstein appeared at the top of the stairs. "Don't you have a hug for your mother?"

"Sure, Mom," Cristina replied blandly, standing up to go hug her.

Helen appraised her daughter's appearance as she traipsed up the stairs. "A little make up would do wonders, Cristina," she commented. "You look like a lesbian."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks, Mommy dearest. I missed you too."

Helen embraced Cristina, much to the younger woman's dismay. "It's good to have you home, Merry Christmas."

"Uh huh."

After listening to her mother talk her ear off about life for an hour or so, Cristina managed to slip away from her clutches, citing jet lag as an excuse. She headed back downstairs into her cave, and took out her phone, preparing to send Callie a text. She and Callie weren't the best of friends, but they got each other on some strange level. They both came from wealthy families and dealt with overbearing parents, though Callie adored her father whereas Cristina wanted to strangle her mother half the time. Still, Cristina enjoyed their occasional "rich kid" moments. It was nice to have.

_Save Me!_

Callie unlocked her phone and chuckled at her roommate's theatrics. Cristina was quite the character. She was surly, bossy, and mean, but she was also loyal, brilliant, and Callie swore she had a heart. While Cristina would never have a sunny disposition or "warm the cockles of her heart", Callie enjoyed living with her. She was different, and great to discuss school with. Callie was always on the top of her game, in large part because of Cristina and their tendency to discuss their school work ad nauseam.

"Was that one of your friends, Calliope?" Carlos Torres asked from the drivers' seat of the car.

"Yes, it was my roommate," Callie answered.

Carlos frowned, remembering his daughter's brief and only description of her abrasive roommate from the beginning of the year. "You two getting along then?"

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "She's….different, but overall a great person. We live well together."

"That's important," Carlos responded with a terse nod. He was channeling the books he'd read on college life since he did not actually go through this American experience. His family had been relatively new immigrants and too poor to formally send him to college, so he worked his way through a local business program to get his start.

Callie appreciated her father reading up on colleges and being active in the process. Sometimes it was a little much, but she knew his heart was in the right place. He wanted the world for his daughters, so he educated himself to be able to help make that decision. It was sweet really. "Yes it is."

"So…" he began, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Callie could see him from the corner of her eye, so she knew what was coming. Her father was always comfortable talking to her about anything, except for the ever uncomfortable conversation about her "potential suitors" as he liked to call them. That was before her thing with Erica changed all of that. He'd been hesitant, but she figured he thought it was a onetime thing, and therefore not something he should take seriously. It didn't make anything easier though. "Yes?"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

Callie took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Does this someone have a name?"

"Ari."

Carlos swallowed and gripped the wheel tighter. "You're dating another woman then?"

"Yes."

As they pulled into the driveway of their Miami mansion, Carlos turned to face his daughter. "Would I like her?"

Callie let out a sigh of relief. "Very much so, Daddy. I think you'd love her a lot."

"She's not a vegetarian is she?"

Callie let out a chuckle. "No."

"Ok because I don't know if I could handle that."

Callie continued to laugh as she got out of the car. She typed Cristina a quick response, before heading into the house. She nodded to their butler, James, at the door. She'd missed her home, but she also realized that she missed Arizona more than she'd ever missed any person, place, or thing in her life. It was like walking without feet or breathing without air or something else equally cheesy and/or emo. Callie knew it was just a few weeks, but already she would kill to be back at campus playing in the snow with Arizona.

Callie glanced at the clock on her phone, and realized the blonde was probably arriving in D.C right around this time. She typed a message to her, before following James up the stairs to her room.

_Just got home. Missing you already, and oddly enough the Minnesota weather as well. Miami is flipping hot! Call you later!_

Arizona smiled as she read Callie's text. She was sitting in the back of a limo between her mother and father. Secret service surrounded them as the motorcade headed towards the White House. As usual, Arizona could see people staring and pointing at the cars. Sometimes when she rode with her parents, she felt a sense of purpose and duty, but she didn't today, which was a bit odd. She chalked it up to having been away so long and out of the Washington spotlight, but Arizona also knew that her father's influence on her was waning just a bit. It wasn't something she admitted often, because each time she did, a little more of the magic disappeared, and the more truly disconnected she became.

Arizona was not immune to the White House by any means. She still marveled over the structure she had been calling her home for the past couple of years. That fact still surprised her and could have her beaming like a child. She lived in the White House, and rode on Air Force One and travelled to Camp David, and her father was the freaking President of the United States. She took none of that for granted, but experiencing life, liberated of the consequences of all the magic, mad the super magic awesomeness of it all seem less…magical.

Entering into the White House, Arizona followed her parents to the room where dinner had been prepared for them. It was always their first activity as a family when one of them returned home: family dinner. Arizona took her spot at the table, pulling the chair closer to it. She smiled as she looked at the bowl of chicken noodle soup, her favorite. The Tavern in Northfield, had the best chicken noodle soup. It had just a bit of potato and a hint of pepper. Delicious.

"Are you enjoying St. Olaf, Arizona?" Barbara asked her daughter.

Arizona nodded. "Yes, very much so. I was just thinking about the soup at the Tavern actually. We like to go there a lot."

"Who is we?"

"My roommates and I along with my girlfriend and her roommate," the blonde answered honestly.

Daniel looked at his daughter in shock. "Girlfriend?"

Barbara put her hand on his knee to try and reassure him. "Daniel, we've talked about this."

"No," he corrected. "We've talked about her being a lesbian, which I am fine with. Arizona I love you, and you know this. But openly dating is something else entirely."

"She's going to date, Daniel, she's in college. You can't keep her cooped up forever."

"Besides, Dad, I'm at St. Olaf as Ari James, not Arizona Robbins," Arizona offered, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and steadied his jaw. "So you're saying that this girlfriend of yours has absolutely no idea who you are?"

Arizona bit her lip. "She knows."

"Arizona," Daniel scolded. "We've talked about this. If she knows that's a security threat, and God knows how many people she's told. I'm going to have to send an agent back with you."

"No!" Arizona pleaded. "My group of friends know, there are five of us total, and that's it. No one else has any idea, so please don't make this into a bigger deal than it is."

"You really shouldn't be seeing anyone," the Colonel reprimanded. "If you are seen…" he hesitated, "canoodling, it could permanently damage my career."

"And we wouldn't want that," Arizona responded sarcastically.

"Don't get smart with me."

The young woman stood from the table. "Don't just think about your career! You aren't the only person in this family, Dad. I like Callie a lot and I'm going to keep seeing her, whether you like it or not." With that, Arizona stormed from the room towards her bedroom, furiously wiping the few tears from her cheeks. Her father could be infuriating and she hated him for it. She slammed the door and collapsed onto her bed, hugging a pillow close. She pretended it was Callie as she closed her eyes, hoping the rest of break wouldn't be this shitty.


	8. Love on the Rocks

A/N: So this took much longer than I anticipated, for that I apologize. I hope this chapter meets your expectations and continues to keep you interested. On the topic of the anonymous users who have been posting less than kind reviews, I feel that I have been quiet for long enough. I don't delete any review, as I firmly believe in free speech and think everyone should be able to see comments on my stories, positive and negative. I readily accept criticism and pride myself on the interaction and trust I have with you all as readers. If you have a serious concern with a story, I urge you to either pm me or sign the review so I can reply. Anyway….as always,

Happy Reading,

~KB~

p.s. italics are texts

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><p>Chapter 8: Love on the Rocks<p>

"Remind me to never go home again," Arizona said dramatically as she collapsed onto the seat next to Teddy.

"That bad, huh?" Teddy questioned.

Arizona sighed, relaxing into the bus seat. She and Teddy were riding the bus from the airport back to campus. Mark hadn't made it back yet, otherwise he would have picked them all up, but Arizona didn't mind riding the bus. It was only forty-five minutes, and was full of Oles, so it really didn't matter anyway. Besides, she'd met a really interesting person named Anna on the ride to the airport, so there had been some benefit to cramming herself into one of the undersized seats. Her father probably would have balked at the idea of her riding a bus unprotected, but her father balked at a lot of things, which was why she avoided him most of the time. "Just another couple of weeks with my father. Nothing to serious."

"Sounds like a grand ole time."

Arizona smiled. "Tell me about your break. What'd you do?"

"Well I just spent the time at home with my parents. It really wasn't exciting."

The blonde smirked. "Sounds riveting."

Teddy popped a chip into her mouth. "Oh you have no idea."

"Well at least it was warm?" Arizona offered, hoping to find something redeemable in her friend's time away from school.

"I couldn't even enjoy it!" Teddy lamented. "It was so hot in Austin compared to here that my body was all kinds of confused and overheated."

"Well that kind of took the wind out of my sails."

"I'm sorry," Teddy said with a laugh. "It was just sort of a blah break."

Arizona nodded. "I can sympathize with that."

"Anyway," Teddy said, making a gesture with her hand suggesting she was brushing off the previous conversation, "tell me about Camp David."

"Shhhh Teddy," Arizona hushed.

"What?" the other woman shrugged. "No one heard."

"I just need to be cautious," the blonde said. "My father made it perfectly clear that there would be repercussions if my identity and consequently my sexual…" she paused. "preferences were to be discovered."

"Personally, I think your dad needs to chill, regardless of his…occupation."

Arizona heaved a deep sigh. There were some things that were just too complex and storied for trivial bus discussion. "Yeah," she replied simply, turning to gaze out the window. Teddy was absolutely correct in her observation about her father. He really did just need to take a breath and let her live. That said, however, she couldn't help but be sympathetic to what he was saying. She knew deep down, that ultimately he was doing what was best for him and his political career and not her, but after the next election it would all be over. He'd be entering his final term as president if re-elected, and she would be free to do as she pleased. So really, it was just two years.

Which was fine…ish.

Two years was nothing, except for the fact that she would be in her junior year the year of the election. So she was supposed to keep Callie a secret from the world for two years? Arizona slid her body further against the crevice between the seat and the wall of the bus. That didn't sound like something she wanted to do…at all. Callie, for her part, had never pressured Arizona to do anything, quite the opposite actually. The blonde had been setting the pace through most of the beginning of their relationship, which Arizona truly appreciated. She liked control, especially over situations where missteps had consequences.

The wind turbine rose in the distance, indicating their close proximity to campus. Teddy squeezed Arizona's knee, probably to make sure the blonde was awake. Arizona turned her head and gave her friend a soft smile. She sat up straight, training her eyes ahead to the looming campus. Even though she'd been at the school for a few months, she still got butterflies each time she saw the limestone covered buildings. She hoped it would always be that way.

Once the bus stopped at Buntrock, the student center, Arizona and Teddy followed the group as they emptied the bus. They stood, waiting for their turn to grab their bags. Arizona tugged her rather large suitcase from the cargo portion of the vehicle, grunting a little bit at the wait.

"You gonna make it?" Teddy playfully asked.

"Shut up!" Arizona replied, swatting her friend on the arm. "It's a little heavy."

"Uh huh," the other woman responded, "or maybe you're just used to having other people pick up your things for you."

The blonde threw Teddy a glare, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Funny."

Teddy shrugged. "I thought so."

Arizona smiled at Teddy as they rolled their suitcases back to Hoyme. Thank God for Teddy, she thought. Her roommate had become somewhat of an anchor over their first few months of college. Cristina had Meredith, Callie had Mark, and she had Teddy. It worked well, and Arizona was forever thankful she ended up being assigned to Teddy's room. She was just so fun and so full of life. It really made a difference in her day. Of course, she had Callie, and their relationship was amazing, but it was still nice to have a best friend separate from her romantic relationship.

They trekked up the stairs, their suitcases clunking against the linoleum behind them. After they reached the top, Arizona grasped the handle, a little out of breath. "Man that was rough."

"Too long away from the stairs?"

"Definitely," Arizona replied, pushing the door open.

Teddy stepped into the room behind her, eyes widening in surprise at the sight before them. "Oh my God!"

"Teddy, why are you freaking o…?" Arizona finally turned her head, her eyes meeting the stunned green of Meredith Grey's. Her roommate stared over Derek's shoulder, eyes open in a mixture of shock and the pleasure she was receiving. The blonde recoiled, her eyes just catching sight of Derek's pale ass as she backed out the door.

Meredith pushed Derek off of her and fumbled to find her shirt. "Fuck," she cursed as she looked for her bra.

"What the hell?" Derek exclaimed, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Roommates," Meredith responded, fastening her newly found bra. "Back."

"Shit," Derek said, hiking up his own pants.

I know."

Derek adjusted himself through his jeans, painfully aware of their current situation. "I'm going back to my room to…yeah."

"Ok," Meredith chuckled as she straightened her shirt.

Derek pulled open the door and slid past the blushing women waiting to enter the room. He turned to face Meredith. "We'll talk later?"

Meredith nodded and watched as he made his way down the stairs. Her two roommates stared at her, causing Meredith to blush. "What?"

"I think I need more 'talking' in my life," Arizona pouted.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "What's wrong? You and Callie not doing enough…'talking'?"

Arizona sighed. "We're not 'talking' at all."

"Could have fooled me," Teddy chimed in from her bed. "'Talking' is good."

"So so good," Meredith sighed, sitting down on the futon.

"Sing it!"

"Where's Cristina?" Teddy asked.

Meredith glanced at her phone. "She should be getting back any minute."

"You're not happy about that right?"

"Nope," Meredith answered equally sarcastically, "not at all."

"Callie back yet?" Teddy inquired, knowing her friend was probably buzzing with anticipation.

Arizona shook her head. "Not until a little bit later. She's coming back with Mark and Cristina."

"Oh my," Meredith commented. "That should be interesting."

"I'm so hungry!" Teddy exclaimed, falling back onto the cushions of her bed. "They need to get back….now."

"We can always go eat without them?" Meredith suggested.

"I'm going to respectfully veto that suggestion," Arizona answered. "Or you two can go and I'll wait?"

"Want to meet us there?" Teddy asked. "I'm seriously starved."

"Yeah sure," the blonde replied. "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Teddy gleefully hopped off the bed. "Sweet! I really need some food."

"Meet us at Chapati?" Meredith asked Arizona, who was nervously fidgeting with her hands.

"Definitely," Arizona smiled, placing her arms down at her sides. She was beginning to get nervous about seeing Callie again. It had only been two weeks, but they had been in such a good place before the break, that Arizona was worried some of their magic would have disintegrated. Of course they talked plenty over break, some of that talking migrating to the dirty end of things, but going a decent amount of time without that physical connection was a bit nerve wracking. Arizona just hoped she would remember how to kiss Callie. "We'll probably leave here within a half hour."

"Sounds great," Teddy smiled. "We'll see you there."

Arizona waved as they slipped through the door. She checked her phone and relaxed against the surface of the futon. Her phone buzzed, and she frantically groped for it on the cushioned surface. Reading the text, she couldn't keep the smile from her face. Callie was only a few minutes away, and the jitters were really beginning to take hold. On one hand, she couldn't wait to feel the Latina in her arms, but on the other, her nerves were driving her completely insane.

A calm knock on the door, tore Arizona from her thoughts. She stood up from the futon and approached the door, hoping it was Callie and not some other random person. She pulled open the door to reveal her stunning girlfriend. "Hi!" the blonde exclaimed, unable to hold back her excitement.

A smile broke out onto Callie's face. "Hi."

"How was your flight?" Arizona asked, still standing in the doorway holding open the door.

"Fine," Callie replied, rolling her eyes. "Are you going to hug me or just stand there?"

Arizona blushed embarrassingly as she stepped into the Latina's arms. She sighed as she felt them wrap strongly around her, inviting her to revel in the current warmth she felt. She could get used to this feeling. "I missed you," she whispered against the brunette's shoulder.

Callie smiled against the top of the blonde's head. She tilted Arizona's head upwards towards her own, her brown eyes scanning the luscious pink lips inching closer. With a contented sigh, she took Arizona's lips between her own, finally reconnecting them in the way for which she had longed so desperately. Kissing Arizona was perfection in the brunette's mind. The way the blonde seemed to be so in sync with her continued to captivate Callie. No one had ever been so attuned to her. No one had ever kissed her like this. It was as if Arizona placed her entire being into it.

After a few moments, the brunette pulled back, so their lips were just barely touching. "I missed you too," she murmured against Arizona's lips. Allowing her eyes to wonder into the room, Callie realized that it was void of other people. "Where is everyone?"

"Dinner," Arizona replied, burrowing into Callie's shoulder. "We're going to Chapati."

"Oooo, I love Chapati."

"I know," the blonde responded, standing up on her toes to kiss the Latina's nose. "Where's Cristina?"

"She said something about a study session," the brunette shrugged. "We're supposed to text her later."

"We don't even have class, how could she have a study session?"

"No idea," Callie answered, "but I try not to understand everything when it comes to Cristina."

Arizona let out a laugh. "Ok then, we'll text her later. Do you want to walk down to dinner?"

"And spend more time with you….NO!" the Latina replied with a smirk, earning her a swat on the arm from her girlfriend. "Ouch!" she said, rubbing the spot. "I was totally kidding."

"Whatever." Arizona rolled her eyes as she brushed by the brunette. "You shouldn't joke about those sorts of things."

"Uh huh."

"Come on," the blonde demanded, pulling Callie down the stairs. "I'm getting pretty hungry."

The two women walked arm and arm down the stairs and out into the crisp, winter air. Even though it was cold, Callie was excited to walk the mile or so into town with Arizona. She would often walk to town with her friends, but she and Arizona rarely did it alone. There was something special about walking down St. Olaf Ave holding the blonde's hand. There was nothing particularly stunning about the stretch of road; it was a typical residential street, but it was still a serene journey, and one during which they could catch up.

Their fingers laced together as they began to walk down the road. Passing Ole Café, Callie gave Arizona's hand a little squeeze, reminding her of one of their first "dates". Callie had taken the blonde out for breakfast at the little shop a few weeks ago. They chattered away, filling each other in on their respective breaks. Callie was not too pleased to hear about her girlfriend's father completely disrespecting their relationship, but she knew there was very little she could do about it, so she steeled her jaw, and forced herself not to comment. She needed to support Arizona anyway, not let her own emotion cloud that responsibility.

They crossed the river on the bridge, and turned right onto Division St. Just ahead to the right was Archer House. It was a large, red structure with an inn on top and various restaurants and shops on the main level, including Chapati. Holding open the door for the blonde, Callie ushered her inside. They veered left into the Indian restaurant, spotting Teddy and Meredith in the corner.

"Hey guys," Callie greeted, taking a seat across from Teddy.

"Hey!"

"Hi Callie," Meredith smiled.

"Wow, thanks for saying hi to me roomies," Arizona said with a smirk as she took her seat.

Teddy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I think you'll live."

"Menus?" Callie asked, glancing at the table.

"We ordered for you."

Arizona arched an eyebrow. "And what makes you think you know what I want."

"Seriously?" Meredith replied. "Chicken curry with an extra order of naan."

"For the two of you to split," Teddy finished.

"Well…that's…" Arizona stammered.

"Exactly what you wanted?"

"That's what we thought," Teddy chimed in. "Face it, we're just the best roomies ever."

"Speaking of roommate," Meredith interrupted. "Where's yours, Callie?"

"She had some sort of study session, or whatever," Callie answered.

Meredith arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Is that so?"

Callie shrugged. "I don't pretend to know what's going on with her half the time. She did say, though, to text her if we ended up doing something."

"Do you want to go to the Cow after dinner?" Arizona inquired.

"Yes!" Everyone answered in unison.

"I'll text Mark and Derek, yes?" Callie offered.

"Yeah," Meredith nodded.

"Speaking of Mark and Derek," Teddy said before taking a sip of her water. "What's up with them anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Meredith asked.

"They're like the coldest roommates ever. I mean when have you ever seen them have a conversation or be in the same room together?"

Callie felt her heart begin to beat loudly in her chest. This wasn't good. She'd managed to avoid the looming doomsday of a blowup between Derek, Mark, Meredith and Addison. She'd hoped the time wouldn't come for another month, but the group seemed to finally be picking up on the strained relationship between the guys. And even though Callie felt guilty for not telling Meredith, she was in too deep now, so the best option was to just avoid. "It's nothing guys. Seriously you're being a bit paranoid," Callie said, hoping it would appease them for now. "Meredith did you text Cristina?"

"I'll do that now."

_Hey…we're going to the Cow after dinner, so in thirty minutes or so. Be there._

Cristina read the text message and groaned. She stood in Preston's bathroom, freshening up after their rather long reunion, which she enjoyed immensely. There was something about Burke that just made her shiver all over. He was just so confident, and chiseled. The way he held her made her completely relax and eased her mind. And the best part about it, was the fact the relationship was purely physical. There were no expectations as far as she could tell beyond those in the bedroom.

Cristina didn't do emotions. They made her feel weak. Of course she cared about human life and blah blah blah, but love? Love was for sissies. And Cristina Yang was the furthest thing from a sissy. She was tough, hardcore even, and depended on no one but herself. She'd grown up without her father, and her mother, though she tried, was more overbearing than supportive. She'd learned early on to only want what she could have, and emotionally that was basically naught.

"You ok in there, Cristina?" Preston asked from the bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm good," she replied. Pushing open the door to the bedroom, Cristina rejoined Burke on the bed. "I have to go in a few minutes," she said.

Preston reached out and caressed her arm. "You sure you don't wanna stay?"

"Yeah," Cristina answered. "My friends are heading to the Cow and they want me to come."

"What do you want, Cristina?"

Cristina shrugged. "I want to be with them tonight if that's ok."

Preston's phone buzzed on the nightstand. He reached over to grab it and spent a few seconds futzing with the screen. "Actually that's perfect. Something just came up, so you would have to leave soon anyway."

"Oh ok," Cristina responded with a small frown. "Well I'll get going then."

"Hang on one second," Preston urged, grabbing Cristina's arm and pulling her in for a heated kiss. Cristina allowed her body to be consumed by the strong frame of Preston Burke, reveling in the feeling of having him pressed against her. He pulled away smirking, and leaving her dazed. "Now you can go."

"Um…yeah, ok," Cristina answered, standing up from the bed. "I'll see you around," She said as she walked out of the bedroom. She picked her jacket off the coat rack by the door and pulled it tightly around her body. Her California blood was not built to process the frigid cold of a January Minnesota evening. Preston lived just off of Ole Ave. on Spring Street, so Cristina cut over to the main road heading to town.

She crossed the rail road tracks and cut across the gas station, since it was just a bit faster. A loud honk from one of the cars caused her to jump and look around.

"Hey Cristina!" A voice from the car yelled.

The Korean woman focused her eyes and realized it was Mark yelling at her from his Mazda. "Oh hey, what are you up to?"

Mark shrugged. "Going to the Cow. What about you?"

"Going to the Cow," Cristina echoed.

"Get in," Mark gestured towards the car. "You'll have to ride in the back, Derek's up front."

"No worries," the brunette replied, sliding into the car. "Hey Derek."

"Hey," he answered lamely as he killed the ring on his phone.

Cristina sat in the back twiddling her thumbs, waiting for Mark to finish gassing up the car. Derek's phone went off again, rudely interrupting the silence and causing Cristina to flinch. He quickly shut it off and the renewed silence descended upon them comfortably. It was soon interrupted again, however, by Derek receiving yet another phone call. "Derek!" Cristina scolded. "You gonna get that?"

"Sorry," he apologized sincerely, "I'll turn off the ringer."

"Alright," Mark said as he climbed into the car. "Off we go."

Cristina cringed as Derek's phone vibrated against the dashboard, but held her tongue. She didn't need to go off on her best friend's boyfriend over insensitive noise making. They arrived at the Cow in just a few moments, walking into the room to cheers from their friends. Meredith rushed to give Derek a hug followed by a relatively awkward embrace of Cristina.

The Cow was the only bar in town that would allow those who were over under twenty-one to hang out there in the evenings. It was a lot fun and they gave out free popcorn. It was amazing popcorn. The place was just so small town that it was charming. The group crowded around a table in the back, the plus twenty-one folks sipping on beers, while everyone else drank soda, though Cristina kept trying to convince Mark to buy her a shot of tequila. No one would have noticed, but apparently the man-whore had morals or something.

"Oh my gosh, Derek!" Cristina exclaimed, unable to keep quiet anymore as Derek's phone buzzed on the table. "Just answer your damn phone."

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly, "I'll put it on silent."

"Good!" Cristina nodded and relaxed into her chair while sipping on her coke, wishing she could find some rum.

"I'm getting a refill," Callie declared, standing up from the table, eager to escape the awkwardness of Derek's phone constantly going off, and him ignoring it. It was obviously starting to rub Meredith the wrong way, and frankly it was just annoying everyone. "Diet, no ice," Callie ordered, handing the bartender her glass. Free refills were glorious.

"You guys are from Olaf too right?" A guy said from next to her.

Callie nodded as she took her drink from the bartender. "Yeah. I'm Callie Torres," she said, sticking out her hand.

"Brian Stewart," he answered, shaking Callie's outstretched hand.

"You just here with friends?" the brunette asked.

Brian nodded. "Yeah, some friends and some GLOW people."

"What's GLOW?"

"It stands for Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever. We're basically the gay group on campus."

"Oh cool," Callie nodded. "When do you meet?"

"Wednesdays at eight in Valhalla."

"Cool. Maybe I'll stop by," the Latina answered. "it was good meeting you Brian."

"You too Callie."

"Cool guy," Callie commented, sitting down and rejoining her friends.

"What guy?" Arizona asked.

"His name is Brian. We just met at the bar. He seems pretty cool."

"Awesome," the blonde smiled.

Callie was about to say something when a flash of red caught her eye. She looked towards the door and froze. Addison Montgomery had just entered the bar and was walking towards them. This was not good…at all. Callie had no time to prepare and no warning was given.

"Oh shit," Mark cursed, unable to keep the shock off his face.

"Nice to see you too, Mark," the tall redhead remarked, her trademark smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "Hi Cal. Are you going to hug me?"

"Of course, Addie," the Latina replied, standing to embrace her long time friend. "I'm glad you're back, I wasn't expecting to see you until February."

"Difficulties in Japan," Addison replied with a wave of her hand. "No hi for me Der?"

"And who are you exactly?" Meredith questioned from her spot on Derek's lap.

"I'm sorry," the redhead replied snidely. "I'm Addison Montgomery."

"Addison," Callie admonished quietly. "Please don't do anything…"

"And you must be the woman who is screwing my boyfriend."

"Stupid."


	9. Gives You Hell

A/N: Ugh! Ok so…finally finished this update. It's one of many on the day. I also updated The Forgotten Shadows, the Caress Me Down Remix, as well as posted two holiday one-shots. I also want to apologize for my lack of replying to reviews. I got super behind on them, and then really just wanted to focus on getting updates done, so I hope that's ok. I'll definitely reply to this round; I enjoy interacting with all of you. You help me find inspiration to write, and for that I thank you. Ok…enough rambling…as always,

Happy Reading,

~KB~

p.s. Italics are flashbacks.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Gives You Hell<p>

Callie sighed as she collapsed her head into her hands. She sat at her desk in her tiny ass room doing homework, and hiding from Meredith. Addison's little stunt last week had more than fucked her over. The situation had torn the group apart. Meredith wasn't speaking to Derek or to Callie; Cristina was being cordial, but generally pissed about the drama; Callie was angry with Addison, angry with Mark, and angry with Derek, Arizona was pissed about being in the middle, and Teddy was just staring at the whole thing wide eyed.

January wasn't going well.

This month was supposed to be one of the best at Olaf, or at least that's what Mark told her. The only class Callie was taking was an fun English course. It was completely normal for Olaf, though. Unlike many schools, St. Olaf had "Interim", which was a January term. During that time students on campus took only one course for a couple hours a day Monday through Friday. Some students even took classes that happened abroad, like intermediate Spanish in Costa Rica. The month was one of intense focus on one academic selection, but also of relaxation. Even with homework, Callie was finished with her day by dinner, and had her evenings completely free. This was the month where she and Arizona had time to really and truly get to know each other, where the group did movie outings and went to the cities, where life was awesome despite the bone chilling cold. Shit wasn't supposed to get real until February.

But Addison came back early.

The redhead's surprise appearance in the Cow shot everything to Hell. Callie had no idea where she was supposed to focus her energy. Did she try to make up with Meredith? Did she try to resolve things with Addison? Did she just say "fuck it" and move on with her life and find new friends? Some combination thereof? The Latina was well and truly stuck, with no idea how to move forward. She had hoped that some time would allow her to figure out some sort of approach, but it seemed time had just caused everyone to dig further into their trenches.

"Hey stranger," a lilted voice greeted from the doorway.

"Hi!" Callie returned brightly, finding her girlfriend staring back at her. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you until later."  
>"Got out of class a little early," the blonde shrugged. "And I might have missed you a little bit, so I wanted to come over and say hi."<p>

"Well hi," the Latina playfully replied, pulling the blonde in for a tender kiss.

"Hi…again," Arizona chuckled. "How are you doing?"

Callie frowned. "Ok, I guess. I'm just not sure how to process everything, or how to fix any of it."

"None of this is your fault," the blonde said reassuringly. "It's between Derek and Meredith."

"And Addison," the brunette supplied.

"Ok fine, and Addison."

"And Mark," Callie added.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "And Mark. The point is, that it has nothing to do with you."

"Then why is Meredith so pissed at me?"

The blonde gave her girlfriend a look of sympathy. "Meredith is just pissed in general. She's hurt and sad and mad as hell. Everyone is getting a little bit of that right now. It will all work out."

"I'm not so sure," the Latina pouted.

"Have a little faith," Arizona encouraged. "Now, let's talk about happy things," she suggested, closing the door. She returned her gaze to Callie with a glint in her eye. "Or, we could not talk at all."

Callie hit play on her itunes and cranked the volume. Standing, she pushed Arizona against the door, and crashed their lips together. She pinned the blonde roughly with her own body, separating Arizona's thighs with one of her own. Grinding into her girlfriend, Callie bit back a moan as she heard the blonde whimper in her ear.

Arizona made the sexiest noises.

Ever since they returned from break, Callie's physical relationship with Arizona had accelerated. They hadn't officially revisited the topic yet, but it was obvious where they were headed. Frantic groping sessions became commonplace, and while each kiss they shared was full of deep intimacy and caring, it was also glaringly apparent that they were struggling not to literally rip their clothes off.

They fell onto the futon with a force that caused Callie to wonder if they had perhaps just broken the piece of furniture. But as Arizona pressed her body into hers, Callie just didn't care anymore. Her brain was too focused on the blonde who was now definitely grinding against her to worry about silly things like furniture.

Callie's hands caressed the blonde's back, gently pulling her shirt up over her head, and discarding it to the side. Arizona returned the favor, smiling devilishly as she began to pepper Callie's chest with kisses. Their hands roamed and explored, grasping at bare skin. Their kisses became more and more needy, their movements reflecting their escalating sexual desires. Callie had to keep reminding herself that they had only been together for a monthish, which wasn't that long. The more daring half of her, however, kept wanting to know if a month in college time was different than a month of high school time, because she certainly didn't feel this horny after a month with her lame high school boyfriend, and she and Erica began having sex almost right away. Neither of those previous experiences could have prepared her for this. She needed Arizona in a way that she had never needed anyone else.

The Latina gasped slightly as she felt Arizona toy with the button on her jeans. Once she popped it open, Arizona then pulled down the zipper. "Is this ok?" the blonde whispered, nipping on Callie's earlobe.

"Yes," the brunette hissed, lifting her hips off the futon, so Arizona could drag her jeans off her legs.

Just then, the door opened, and Cristina entered, unbeknownst to the women on the futon. "Jeez, Torres, couldn't you listen to some better…oh," she trailed off, seeing her roommate and Arizona obviously wrapped around each other. She paused the music, causing both women to jump.

"Oh my God!"

"Cristina!" Callie shrieked, tugging up her jeans. "What the hell?"

The Korean woman glared at the two of them. "You need to start locking the door. This is the third time this week I've caught the two of you messing around."

Arizona blushed. "Can you just give us a second?"

Cristina rolled her eyes, but smiled in spite of herself. "Just a second?"

"Shut it, Cristina," Callie responded.

"Just don't take too long," the brunette replied before exiting the room.

"Shit," Callie shook her head, reaching for her shirt.

"I know," Arizona agreed. After pulling on her own shirt, she stood from the futon. "I'm just gonna go. Cristina is unbearable when she's cranky. I'll see you later tonight?"

"Definitely," the Latina replied, pushing herself off the cushioned surface as well. She wrapped her arms around Arizona's waist, and pulled the blonde in for a tender kiss. She meant for it to be short, but it soon spiraled into something much more passionate and frenzied.

"Mmm," Arizona moaned as Callie nipped at her neck, "I really need to go."

"Yeah," the brunette agreed, forcefully stepping back from the blonde. She resisted the urge to pull Arizona back towards her, instead opting for the safe, but sweet kiss on the hand. "I'll text you later."

"Ok," Arizona nodded, opening the door. She slid past Cristina, and muttered an apology, before continuing down the hall. She hoped no one was in her room when she got back, because she was desperately in need of some release. She and Callie had been dancing around the issue of their sexual relationship, while simultaneously pushing the boundaries all term. It was a problem. Arizona wanted to sleep with Callie, she wanted sex with her girlfriend, but part of her felt like it was too soon. The other, probably larger part of her, however, voraciously disagreed with that rationale. Besides, they were just so close lately, that now the blonde was permanently on edge, which didn't help anything. For her part, Callie never tried to push her; she always stayed within boundaries the blonde had previously established through pattern. These days, however, Arizona was practically shredding her clothes to get to the Latina. At this rate, they would be fucking by tonight.

Which wasn't necessarily an issue.

Callie, however, had vocalized early on that she didn't want their first time to be frenzied sex on a futon; she wanted it to be special. As admirable and thoughtful Arizona found that to be, she almost didn't want to wait for special. Almost. Of course, that was probably just her hyperhornied self lamenting the dearth of a vibrant sex life full of orgasms. She could probably just rub up on Callie, and she'd climax, she was that tightly wound.

Sighing, Arizona turned the knob on her door. It was unlocked, which meant people were around. She collapsed in a disappointed heap on her own futon, groaning in frustration.

"How you doing buddy?" Teddy playfully asked from her desk.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"No sex?"

"I hate you," the blonde huffed.

"No you don't," Teddy countered with a smile. "You love that I know you so well."

"I kind of do," Arizona admitted. "Where's Meredith?" she asked, noticing their other roommate was not present.

"Probably sulking," Teddy replied flatly.

"Teddy," Arizona lightly admonished.

"What?"

"Nothing," the blonde chuckled as she stretched out along the couch. "What are your plans for the day?"

"Nothing really," Teddy responded, "I'll get food at some point, probably with you peeps. Will Callie come do you think?"

Arizona shrugged. "Meredith seems pretty pissed about the whole thing, so she might just eat with Mark or something."

"Ugh," Teddy groaned. "The whole situation is just so fucked."

"Totally."

* * *

><p>Meredith sat in her usual spot in the library doing her reading for tomorrow's class. Basically, she was hiding out from everyone. She didn't really have a large amount of reading due; she could probably finish the rest of the week's assigned reading in just a couple of hours if she wanted, but she was probably just going to watch a movie later instead. She just needed some time to relax and not deal with the stresses of her life at the moment.<p>

Once she heard Addison speak those words at the Cow, Meredith literally shut down. She wanted nothing to do with anyone. She'd barely even talked to Cristina lately. That night was just awful and she wanted nothing more than to just forget it, forget Addison, and forget Derek.

_"And who are you exactly?" Meredith questioned from her spot on Derek's lap._

_"I'm sorry," the redhead replied snidely. "I'm Addison Montgomery."_

_"Addison," Callie admonished quietly. "Please don't do anything…"_

_"And you must be the woman who is screwing my boyfriend."_

_"…stupid."_

_Meredith stared wide eyed at Addison, before turning to Derek with a terrifying glare on her face. Wordlessly, she stood up and rushed from the bar. She took the stairs up to the street two at a time, gasping for air, and welcoming the snow that had just begun to fall._

_"Meredith!" she heard Derek calling her name. Ignoring him, she started up the street, not knowing where she was going, but knowing it wouldn't be there. "Meredith!" he called after her again._

_"Go away!" she yelled back._

_"Just wait," he pleaded, finally catching up to her, "we should discuss this."_

_"Here's a thought…no," she spat, turning away from him. "Quit following me."_

_"At least let me explain."_

_"Explain?" she exclaimed incredulously, "you know when you should have explained? When we met at the party, before any of the rest of it. Yeah, that would have been a good time to discuss it."_

_"Look," Derek interjected hastily, trying to find something to cling to, "I know how you feel."_

_"Do you?" Meredith questioned harshly. "Somehow I doubt that, because if you did, you would shut up, and you would turn around and go back inside because you would realize that I am this close to taking Mark's car and running you down on this street!" By the time she finished, she'd been screaming at him. The snow collapsed down around them in what seemed to be white sheets. Cristina brushed past Derek to collect her friend, ushering her into Mark's car where Teddy and Arizona were waiting, before heading back to campus._

Yeah, that night sucked. It hadn't really gotten any better from there. She'd just buried herself in the chubby class she had over interim. She was in a different section from pretty much everyone else, so it wasn't that difficult to avoid them, since they had labs at different times. She hadn't really been going to dinner with her friends, opting instead to eat cheezeits or whatever else she found in her food drawer. But she really needed to actually eat, and she also promised her roommates she'd go to dinner tonight.

Slamming her book closed in frustration, Meredith stood, and gathered her things. She climbed the stairs back to the main floor of the library. As she walked towards the door, she saw Derek just entering. Meredith clenched her jaw in anger, and just pushed forward.

"Meredith," she heard him plead.

"Don't," she hissed, continuing through the doors, and heading down the hall towards Buntrock. After hastily checking her mail, she dropped her stuff off in Fireside, and waited for her roommates and Cristina. She'd let it be known that she wasn't particularly keen on talking to Callie at the moment, so she doubted the Latina would make an appearance, but she was Arizona's girlfriend, so who knew.

"Hey Meredith!"

Meredith looked up to find Teddy, Arizona, Cristina, and even Callie standing in front of her. "Hey."

"Ready for dinner?" Arizona asked warmly.

"Yeah sure," Meredith replied with a nod.

The group headed up the stairs to the Caf. Swiping their cards for entry, they all went their separate ways to grab the food they wanted, and met up at the silverware as per usual. Snagging a round table in the back, the five women managed to sit down and eat their meals in relative peace. Conversation wasn't unbelievably lively, but it wasn't completely stagnant either. No one wanted to talk about the Derek and Addison issue anymore, especially Callie, who felt like she was responsible, no matter what Arizona said.

As they put their tray up and began to leave the Caf, Callie grabbed Meredith and pulled her aside for a few moments. "Meredith…"

"Save it," the smaller woman barked, turning away from Callie.

"Wait," Callie pleaded, grabbing her wrist gently. "I know you're upset, and I know I'm partially responsible for that. I apologize sincerely for hurting you. I can't tell you everything because it's not my story to tell, but know that there is way more to this than the bullshit Addison spewed at the Cow two weeks ago. You really should talk to Derek, even if it's only to get closure."

"But he and Addison…"

Callie shook her head. "They aren't together. That's all that I'll say. I'm not saying he isn't the bad guy in this situation, but he's not the only one."

With that, Callie walked off to find Arizona. She was going to her first GLOW! meeting tonight, and wanted to see if the blonde would like to join her. "Hey," she said, dropping a kiss on the blonde's cheek.

"Hi," Arizona replied, picking up her bag.

"I was going to head back up to Valhalla and go to the GLOW meeting if you wanted to join me. Since it's Interim, they're having it earlier than usual."

The blonde frowned. "I have reading to finish, but I'll stop by Kildahl after?"

"Actually, I'll come get you from Hoyme. I'm going to go have a long overdue chat with Addison after the meeting."

"Oh ok," Arizona replied. "I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye," she answered, giving Callie's hand a quick squeeze before making her way towards the library.

Callie smiled and headed back up the stairs toward Valhalla, one of the dining rooms at the school, but was frequently used as a meeting space. She found a circle of mostly full chairs, but managed to find one near the guy she met at the Cow, Brian. "Hey," she said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm…"

"Callie," Brian finished. "We met a couple weeks ago."

"Yeah," the Latina replied, nodding enthusiastically. "I decided to come to a meeting and see what you guys are all about."

"Well, I'm really happy you came," he said, smiling.

Callie returned his grin and relaxed in her seat. She mostly observed the meeting, enjoying the interactions she was seeing. There were so many more than she was expecting. For whatever reason, she thought the group would have been comprised of something like five people, but there were easily twenty-five to thirty people in the room. It was like they were a family, joking and laughing, but all the while discussing serious stuff, like planning for the Pride week that was coming up in a couple of months, and the school's Drag Ball, as well as discussion about queer issues in the news. There was also the not so serious planning in the form of a group trip to the Cities next weekend to check out the Gay 90s, something GLOW! did every January apparently. By the time the meeting concluded, Callie was unbelievably excited about the prospect of joining this group and becoming a part of something so positive.

"Are you glad you came?" Brian asked.

"Absolutely! I was so surprised by just how many people were here."

"There are more people who are out on campus, but they just don't come to meetings. Activism and being in an organization isn't for everyone, but almost everyone comes to parties and social gatherings."

"Was everyone here gay?"

"Nope," Brian answered. "We're very open to allies, so a number of people who come to meetings are active straight people, but the majority of the group who regularly attends the meetings are of the non-hetero variety."

"That's awesome!" the Latina responded, unable to keep the grin from her face. "Well I better get going, but thanks for inviting me."

"See you next week?" Brian asked hopefully.

"For sure."

Still smiling, Callie walked down the stairs and out the doors of Buntrock. It was uncharacteristically warm for a January evening, which the brunette thought was awesome. They'd had quite a bit of snow this winter, so it hadn't been unbearably cold, which made her adjustment from Miami warmth to deathly cold Minnesota winters all the more possible. She crossed the quad, and passed the old science building on her way to Larson, Addison's dorm.

Larson was one of the towers, stretching twelve stories above ground and looking over the rest of the campus. It was the tallest building at St. Olaf, and was visible from downtown Northfield. Addison lived on the eighth floor, something she told Callie right after the incident at the Cow. She had been avoiding Addison since that night. There were so many things she was mad at her friend about, but being blindsided with all of this shit while she was gallivanting across the globe was definitely at the top of the list.

Callie harshly pressed the button for Addison's floor, her anger building with each passing second. As the elevator doors opened, the Latina exited onto the floor. She spent a few minutes exploring until she found Addison's sextet. Knocking, she waited impatiently until Addison answered the door, looking glamorous as always.

"Hey Cal," she said with a smile.

"We need to talk."

"Please come in, then. My roommate is gone." Callie brushed passed her friend, standing angrily in the middle of the room. Addison closed the door with a sigh. "I'm sure you're mad at me…"

"Mad doesn't even begin to cover it, Addie."

"Look, I'm sorry, Callie. I messed up."

"Yeah," the Latina agreed, "you really did. And I had to hear it from Mark, Addison. Plus, you barely talked to me all semester while you traveled the world, despite the fact that I tried to get in contact with you. I thought we were friends…good friends, maybe even best friends."

"We are," Addison answered sadly. "You are one of my closest friends, and I'm sorry about everything. Last spring was just such a shit show, and Mark and I both decided to just not involve you because you were so excited to come here, and we didn't want to ruin it. But then everything with Derek happened, and I just shut down and left. I needed to just experience life that wasn't my actual reality, Callie. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I needed space."

"Well you still could have given me a heads up."

"I could have, and I'm sorry. I'm back now, and I'll be a better friend to you."

"Ok," Callie said, embracing her friend.

"I'm also really sorry for the shitty position you're in," the redhead confessed.

"Do you love Derek?" Callie asked. "Because if you don't, you need to just let him go. Don't torture Meredith; she's a nice person who is head over heels for the guy."

Addison shrugged. "I love him, but everything is just so messed up, and I have no idea what to do."

Callie pulled her friend into another hug. "We'll figure it out, Addie. We always do."

* * *

><p>Derek sat in his room sulking. Meredith had blown him off again today. He hadn't talked to her in what seemed like forever, and the way things were going, he didn't know if that would change any time soon. When he'd found out about Addison and Mark, he didn't feel like talking either, so he didn't blame her at all, but he just wished he could tell her everything. The only reason he hadn't was because he was so afraid of pushing her away. Everything was screwed up; he was screwed up, but he knew that Meredith could make him breathe again.<p>

A knock sounded on the door, startling him from his thoughts. Getting out of his chair to open the door, Derek was beyond surprised to find Meredith. "Mer?" he questioned, still in a state of bewilderment.

"Hey," she sighed. "Can I come in?"

"Yes of course," Derek answered, stepping aside. "What's up?"

"I talked to Callie today, and she told me that you aren't the only bad guy or something like that, so I came to get your side of the story. To give you a chance to explain."

"Ok," Derek replied, before taking a deep breath. "Last May, I left to go home a little bit early, but I forgot something, so I came back to grab it. As I opened the door to the suite, however, something felt different. Nothing's different, everything's the same, and still something is different. We lived in a big quad suite in Rand. Mark and I shared a double, which was connected to another double through a bathroom. I stood in the room I shared with Mark for a second, and then I know. See there are moments for me, usually when I'm in lab or out fishing, when I just know what's going to happen next." Derek paused and took a long sip of the water on his desk. "So I go into the bathroom and prepare myself for what I'm going to see when I enter the other room. I saw a man's shirt and a woman's sweater that didn't belong to me, and everything I think I know just shifts. Because the clothing that doesn't belong is clothing that I recognize. What I know now is that when I open the door, I'm not just going to see that my girlfriend is cheating on me, I'm going to see that my girlfriend is cheating on me with Mark. It was just so pedestrian and common and dirty and cruel…mostly just cruel," he said lamely. "And then I left and went home. Spent the summer with my family. Came back as a J.C. to live with my best friend who slept with my girlfriend who was off on global semester doing God knows what in Geneva or some other random place."

"And you met me," Meredith supplied.

"And I met you," Derek echoed, his eyes connecting with hers, sending a silent plea to accept this story and love him despite all the rest of it.

Meredith shook her head and turned towards the door. All of this was shocking, and so much to process. She put her hand on the door handle, but turned back towards Derek. "What was I to you?" she asked. "The girl you screwed to get over being screwed?"

"You were like coming up for fresh air," Derek confessed. "It was like I was drowning and you saved me." He shrugged. "That's all I know."

Meredith stood still, allowing Derek's words to wash over her. She let out a sigh. "It's not enough," she decided, pulling open the door. She strolled out of the room, letting go of the door, and allowing it to slam shut behind her with a resounding thud.


	10. The Light

A/N: Hey everyone…I know it's been awhile. In light of the craziness that's been going on recently on this site and in the fandom in general, I just wanted to give everyone a little bit of love. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: The Light<p>

Addison relaxed on the couch in her dorm room, her eyes closed from exhaustion. Her roommate was out as per usual, leaving her alone with her own thoughts. Everything was just so messed up, and Addison didn't really know what to do anymore. The last month had been ridiculous. She and Derek weren't really talking; she and Mark weren't really talking; she and Callie weren't really talking; and she kept seeing that tiny Meredith girl everywhere. Seriously, that girl was miniature.

Her cat like smile grated the redhead the wrong way, as did her perfect, shiny hair. Deep down, Addison knew the whole situation was her own fault, but that didn't actually make it easier to cope with. She and Mark had a brief tryst, the details of which Derek still didn't know. And hopefully never would. There was so much he couldn't ever know.

God she was screwed.

Her relationship with Callie had its own problems. Sure, they'd "made up" when Addison returned from abroad, but they still hadn't really talked. She was too busy being off with Ari, this perky girl who smiled and said "yay" way too much for Addison's liking. She was like a strange intrusion into the life Addison should have had, laughing with friends, and being in the perfect relationship. And yet she seemed so familiar. She had an aura about her that Addison couldn't quite place.

Frowning, Addison rubbed her temples. She was happy for Callie. Coming back after being gone for over a semester was just so rough. They tried to prepare her for it, but really nothing could have prepared her for how she felt since stepping off the plane. Feeling unwanted was perhaps the worst feeling in the world. Before last May, she'd had a life, a place at St. Olaf. She was a girlfriend, a student, and an involved individual on campus. She knew what her day would look like in the morning. She always had dinner plans. She knew who she could count on. None of that was certain anymore. Addison figured she'd always at least have Callie, but then she went and screwed that up too.

She and Callie had always had an odd friendship. She met her through Mark, and wasn't exactly welcoming to what she described as his baby girl tag-along. She figured Callie was just another one of the hopeless girls that followed Mark around. But the more she stuck around, the more she had grown on Addison. She still remembered the night Mark forced the brunette into singing at the Cow. Her voice was magical, and Addison had felt the genuine sincerity in that moment. From that moment on, she had opened up more to Callie, and eventually they became extremely close.

That was probably the most upsetting part of the whole ordeal. Addison could handle life without Derek and Mark, but what the last month had showed her, was the fact that she really did need Callie in her life. She was determined to mend their relationship.

But first, she really needed something to eat.

Pulling herself off her couch, Addison ran a quick brush through her hair. Satisfied with how she looked, the redhead grabbed her bag, and exited the room. After quickly locking the door behind her, she deposited the key in her pocket, before heading towards the elevator. Larson, her dorm, wasn't that far from Buntrock, so it didn't take too long for Addison to get to the student center. She dropped her bag next to one of the chairs in Fireside.

Addison turned abruptly upon hearing familiar laughter. Her steely eyes met Callie's brown ones. Her lips twitched upwards in a small smile as her friend approached her. "Hey," she said.

"Hi Addie," Callie replied.

Addison crossed her arms defensively. "What are you up to?"

The Latina shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Have any plans for tonight?"

"Yeah, actually," Callie said with a smile, moving closer to whisper, "I'm surprising Arizona with dinner in the cities."

"That's cute," Addison said, plastering a smile on her smile. She was happy for Callie, but the redhead also was just a tad bit jealous. "When are you leaving?"

Callie looked at her watch. "In a couple of hours or so."

"Sounds great. Do you want to get dinner sometime next week?"

"Yeah!" Callie answered enthusiastically. "We should definitely catch up. You and I haven't hung out in forever."

Addison bit her tongue before she said something harmful. Instead, she just maintained her smile. "Yeah."

"Ok, I have to go," the Latina rushed, "but I will definitely text you."

"I miss you, Cal."

"I miss you too, Addie," Callie answered, watching her friend walk away. The brunette turned over her shoulder to face the group of giggling girls standing in the middle of fireside. Arizona's head was thrown back in laughter over something Teddy had whispered, and Callie couldn't help smiling along with her. Arizona's smile had the effect of being contagious.

Callie just quietly watched Arizona interact with others. For some people, that might seem unbelievably creepy, but the blonde was just so captivating that the Latina found it hard to look away. She felt her heart noticeably beat faster in her chest, the sensation causing her ears to pound. One look, one smile from Arizona Robbins sent Callie into overdrive. She figured this was just a side effect of the "honeymoon" stage of their relationship, but they'd officially been together for a little over two months, and the feeling only seemed to have intensified.

Then there was the sex question. There had still been no sex. It had been unbearably difficult, but somehow Callie had been able to resist shredding all of Arizona's clothing. She'd never experienced a feeling like this before. Literally all she thought about was seeing the blonde naked. It consumed every fiber of her being. If Arizona just looked at her, Callie was a goner. She walked around campus in a perpetual horny state. And it wasn't a fire she could quell herself.

She tried that.

A lot.

No, Callie needed sex. But she couldn't say that out loud because she would never want Arizona to think that all she wanted from her was sex. Their relationship meant so much more to Callie than that. They were in a good place. They talked a lot, hugged a lot, and spent nearly every minute during the day together. Callie could actually study with Arizona, and preferred her room to the library. They did nearly all of their homework together, aiding one another where it would be of use, and interspersing the marathon sessions with a few well timed massages. They were cute, and wonderful, and Callie loved that. She was pretty sure she loved Arizona, which was why she wanted to take the blonde out for dinner tonight. She wasn't really planning to drop the "l word", but Callie wanted to spend some time with Arizona off campus and check-in. They didn't get to do that often.

She'd be lying if she tried to deny the fact that she did contemplate booking a hotel room for the night, but she really didn't want to be presumptuous, nor did she want Arizona thinking that. Logically speaking, if the subject came up, then Callie could easily grab a room without any problems. Arizona, however, had no idea they were going out tonight. Callie had made sure that she was sneaky, and then of course told pretty much no one, because their friends could not keep secrets to save their lives.

"You are aware that you've been staring at me for a solid five minutes right?" Arizona asked, suddenly very close in proximity to the brunette.

"Um…" Callie stammered, "yes."

The blonde tilted her head and smirked that cute way she did. "What were you thinking about?"

"How excited I am for our date tonight."

"Oh we have a date?" Arizona teased. "This is the first I'm hearing about it."

Callie took a deep breath. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"Yes of course," the blonde answered. "That's such a silly question."

The Latina wrapped her arms around the blonde, pulling her close for an intimate embrace. She didn't care if they were in Fireside. "Ok, well meet me in the Hoyme lounge in an hour ready to go. Dress nicely."

"So cryptic."

"Just do it, Arizona," Callie replied, dropping a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek.

Meredith looked on at the happy couple in jealousy. She wanted that happiness; that joy in her life. She actually had that for few months, and then it was taken from her. More than the anger she felt, and the sadness, she just missed him. It was a horrible situation to be in, and all she wanted to do was hate him, but it was proving to be difficult.

Her eyes shifted to Cristina, who was apparently trying desperately to smile, but failing miserably. Meredith knew she'd been so wrapped up in her own drama that she'd neglected to see that something was also going on with Cristina, but there was definitely something bothering her friend. She just didn't look "right". Cristina wasn't what anyone would describe as a "happy" person, but this faux happiness was just creepy.

She was definitely covering.

Before Meredith could steal her away, though, Cristina started walking towards the breezeway with the lovebirds and Teddy. Meredith hurried along behind them to catch up. She looped her arm gently through Cristina's, tugging her down the student activities hallway.

"What are you doing?" the Asian woman protested as Meredith steered them towards the quiet back hallway that seemed to always be empty.

"What is wrong with you?" Meredith asked.

Cristina crossed her arms and huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Meredith looked out the window blankly. "My life is fucked, so whatever you've got…"

"You don't want to play with me," the other woman interrupted.

Meredith shrugged. "Between Derek and Addison, it's been shitty so…"

"Really," Cristina insisted, "you don't want to play with me."

"What is the big d…?"

"I'm pregnant," she confessed.

"What?"

"It's Professor Burke's."

"Oh my God." Meredith gasped. "You totally win."

"Told ya."

* * *

><p>"Callie!" Arizona squealed. "Just tell me where we're going."<p>

"Camping," Callie said with a smirk.

"Calliope Torres," the blonde admonished, "that's not even funny."

"What's so wrong with camping anyway?"

"The ground is hard and it's cold and wet. Just not fun at all. Why sleep in a tent when you can have a bed?"

Callie snorted. "You're so practical, Arizona."

"I can't help it if I enjoy comfort," the blonde frowned.

"I'm teasing," Callie said, grabbing her girlfriend's hand and kissing it gently. "I think you're really going to enjoy tonight."

"You've got big plans or something?"

"I have all kinds of plans," the Latina replied with a smirk as she steered the vehicle off the freeway towards Uptown. It was such a change from Northfield, and the first time Callie had journeyed to the cities since her birthday. She was excited to spend the evening out, and even more excited that it was just her and Arizona. Plus, as an added bonus, they were going to dinner in the "gay part" of Minneapolis. Brian, the GLOW leader with whom she had recently struck up a friendship had suggested the place. It was a little pub, which really got Callie excited. She hoped it was good. Sports, food, and this woman across the table from her; the night seemed promising.

After parking the car, Callie helped Arizona out of the passenger seat, causing the blonde to giggle in appreciation. The Latina gently linked their fingers together, steering the blonde close to her side. The chill of the Minnesota wind whipped through their hair. Arizona gripped tighter to Callie's arm as a shiver passed through here. Smiling at the contact, Callie directed them across the street, towards Lyon's Pub.

Holding the door open to the pub, Callie couldn't keep the smile off her face. She took in the dark wood and the instant pub feeling she had. She loved places like this. It was the type of place she could see herself frequenting in the future. She enjoyed growing up with the ostentatious clubs in Miami and loved the occasional "night out" with glamour and glitz, but she much preferred beer, sports, and a relaxed atmosphere.

"This place seems great," Arizona said, turning over her shoulder to look at her girlfriend.

"You like it?" Callie asked, unsure if Arizona would actually like the setting, or if she would have preferred a more elegant place.

"I do," the blonde nodded, taking in her surroundings. "I haven't been able to go to a place so…" she paused as she contemplated the word she wanted, "casual in years. It's always fine dining, and I hate having to remember the order of my utensils."

"I know what you mean," the taller woman responded, thinking back to being carted all over Miami to attend various fundraising functions with her parents.

"How are we doing tonight ladies?" the host asked them as he grabbed menus.

"Super," Arizona answered, earning an eye roll from the woman to her right.

"Right this way."

Callie allowed the blonde to walk in front of her, something she did often. Arizona thought she was being chivalrous, letting her go first, but really she was just perving. There were few things more fine than Arizona's backside, and while Callie liked to pretend she wasn't some hormonal almost not teenager, she totally was. It was totally inappropriate and Callie knew it, but she couldn't help herself.

"See something you like, Torres?"

Callie's head snapped up, her brown eyes meeting Arizona's piercing blue ones that seemed to be twinkling with mischief. "Maybe," she fired back, fighting the blush threatening to color her cheeks and ruin the façade of her confidence. "I'm still on the fence."

Arizona narrowed her eyes playfully. "Uh huh."

"Here you are," the host gestured towards a booth in a more quiet part of the restaurant.

"Thank you," both women chorused together, sliding into their respective sides of the booth.

"Everything looks so delicious," Arizona commented as she flipped through the menu. "I can't decide."

"Oh I know what I want."

The blonde's mouth drop open in surprise. She didn't know if Callie meant to, but Arizona definitely picked up a hint of flirting that had nothing to do with food in her voice. She bit her lip to keep from saying something stupid, so she settled on a simple, "hmm?"

"This Cajun chicken sandwich looks amazing!"

"Oh, that's what you were talking about?"

"Yeah," Callie answered as she swallowed a sip of water. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Nothing," the blonde replied, a red tint covering her soft cheeks.

Callie let out a soft chuckle. Maybe she wasn't the only pervy, hormonal almost not teenager.

* * *

><p>Cristina splashed water on her face, letting the droplets fall from her face as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She could hear Meredith badgering her from three sinks over. Her voice sort of floated around Cristina without the Asian woman actually comprehending anything she said. She couldn't hear anything. It was like her mind had completely clouded over, existing between a functional state and one of complete nothingness.<p>

How she got into this situation boggled her mind. Maybe she shouldn't have been sleeping with Burke, but then where would she be? Perusing the sea of college boys? Gross. She didn't want a boy. She was too smart, too experienced, and just a little too crazy for them. Burke satisfied her in every way possible, except perhaps romantically, but she didn't care about that anyway.

"Cristina? Hello?"

Sighing, Cristina wiped the water from her face. "What Meredith?"

"Did you hear a word I said?"

"Obviously not?"

"What is going on with you and Burke? Are you in a relationship?"

"We're," she paused, contemplating her next words, "Switzerland."

"Switzerland," Meredith repeated.

"Yes," Cristina agreed, "it's very neutral there and they make very nice watches."

"Have you even bothered to tell Burke about the baby?" Meredith asked, glaring at Cristina as she still stared into the mirror. "Are you going to?"

"Look, Meredith." Cristina pleaded. "Can we not go there? Can you just accept the fact that there are some things I want to keep to myself and I don't discuss everything to death?"

"Then why even confide in me at all?" Meredith responded. "If you're so intent on not discussing it, why even tell me?"

Cristina sighed as she watched her friend storm out of the bathroom. This was not how she envisioned the second half of her freshman year beginning. She was stuck in this rut with her not boyfriend, and she also had a baby, no a fetus, growing inside of her. This was uncharted territory for her, but she'd already made the appointment to have the pregnancy terminated.

It wasn't that she didn't want kids ever, although she didn't. She was in college, and at only eighteen years old, there was no way she could carry a baby. She had hopes; she had dreams, and being pregnant ruined a significant part of that. Truthfully, she wouldn't have told anyone, but they required an emergency contact, and that was Meredith.

For whatever reason, she and Meredith just gelled in a way that Cristina wasn't used to. She had never been the uber social child growing up. She always hung out with an older crowd, looking for a thrill. Cristina had led her life in a dark cloud of angst, men, and motorcycles. And although Meredith had once confided that she had pink hair and didn't go to prom, she was just nicer than Cristina.

Cristina didn't do nice.

But Meredith connected with her in a way no one else had. She cared, and was truly kind, but could be fierce, and underneath her cat-like smile she had something darker. It intrigued Cristina, and reminded her a little of herself, but not quite as surly. She didn't want Meredith to be upset with her, so she stood up straight, and pulled the bathroom door open. She walked the short distance to Meredith's door, taking a deep breath before knocking.

Meredith opened the door, about to tell Cristina to go away, when the Korean butted in. "The clinic has a policy," she said with a sigh. "They wouldn't let me confirm my appointment unless I designated an emergency contact person. Someone to be there just in case," she said, taking another breath as she paused. "To help me home, you know after." She looked at her feet and leaned against the doorway, staying silent for a few moments. "Anyway, I put your name down. That's why I told you I'm pregnant." She lifted her head to look at Meredith. "You're my person."

"I am?"

"Yeah, you are." She shrugged. "Whatever."

Meredith smirked. "Whatever."

Cristina tried not to flinch as Meredith flung an arm around her shoulders and brought her into the room. "You realize this constitutes hugging."

"Shut up," the blonde replied, "I'm your person."

* * *

><p>Callie threw back her head in laughter as she munched on a fry. She and Arizona were having such a good time. She didn't particularly want the night to end, but there was no way Callie was going to ask if Arizona wanted to spend the night up here. It was taking every fiber of her being not to ask though. It wasn't even about the prospects of sex. Ok…it wasn't <em>totally <em>about the prospects of sex. They were around people all the time. Getting an opportunity to actually spend the night with her girlfriend not in a dorm room in an tiny twin bed, or on an uncomfortable futon sounded splendid. Her skin actually tingled at the thought of soft sheets and fluffy pillows.

"Something on your mind?" Arizona asked.

The brunette shook her head. "Nope. I'm just glad you came tonight."

"Phrasing, Calliope," Arizona joked.

Callie blushed instantly. "Arizona!" she admonished, "what are you? Twelve?"

"God I'd hope not," the blonde chuckled, deciding to cut off their banter as she saw the waiter approach.

The Latina flashed the waiter a smile as he dropped off the bill, which she promptly picked up amid Arizona's protests. "I asked you out. It's my check."

Arizona gave in quickly, knowing it best not to argue. "Thank you."

Callie picked up her girlfriend's hand, placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. "You're welcome."

Settling back into her seat, their comfortable discussion and joking quickly resumed. Once the waiter returned with her card and receipt, the Latina promptly signed, and helped Arizona to her feet. They held hands on the walk back to the car, and once again, Callie opened the door for her date. She slid into her own place, slipped the key into the ignition, and started the engine.

"So where to now?" Arizona asked as Callie backed out the car.

"I figured we'd just head back to Olaf," the Latina answered honestly.

"Oh," Arizona said, a hint of disappointment coloring her voice. "We aren't staying the night up here?"

Callie swallowed. "Did you want to?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Arizona furrowed her brow. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah!" the brunette answered. "I just…wasn't expecting that."

"Do you not want to stay up here tonight?" the blonde asked, trying not to sound hurt.

"No! NO! I do!" Callie quickly covered. "I just didn't want to be presumptuous, and I mean we've kind of talked about it, but not really, and I think I'm going a little crazy, and you just look so beautiful…"

"Calliope," Arizona interrupted, "just pay attention to the road."

"So I should drive us to a hotel?"

Arizona nodded. "Yes you should. I'm tired of futons."

Callie didn't trust herself to speak. She tried not to let her nervousness show as she navigated Mark's car through the streets of Uptown. Thankfully, Uptown wasn't that far from the city center, which was where her father's hotel was located. She'd never actually been to this hotel, but the Torres family had a system, which included a "family card", that essentially gave any family member free reign over whatever hotel they might be staying in.

Pulling into the hotel drive, she flashed her card to the valet, making sure he understood the car was to be parked in the private storage area. After collecting Arizona, she led them into the beautiful lobby, putting on a hell of a façade of confidence. "I'd like a suite for the night please," she said with a smile to the receptionist, sliding her card over the counter.

"Yes of course, Miss Torres," the woman replied instantly. "I'll have a welcome basket sent up right away. Would you like anything from the kitchen?"

The Latina looked over her shoulder to Arizona who shook her head. "No thanks, we just ate."

"Here are your keys. Enjoy your stay."

Callie laced her fingers through Arizona's as they approached the elevator. Stepping into the box as the doors dinged open, she felt her heart thump loudly in her chest. She could hardly breathe; her brain fogging from nerves and adrenaline. She had no idea if Arizona felt the same way she did, but if she was just half as nervous, things could get interesting.

Exiting the elevator, Callie steered them quickly to their room. Using the key, she waited for the beep of the lock before turning the handle. The room that greeted them was gorgeous, sprawling yards and yards ahead. It was like a small apartment, with a wonderful view of the city. Simply wonderful.

"This is beautiful," Arizona commented.

"I'm glad you like it," Callie replied, looking down at her shoes.

"Are you nervous?" the blonde asked quietly.

Callie nodded. "Very."

"We don't have to do anything."

"I know," the Latina answered. "I want to."

Arizona stepped forward, gently pressing her lips against the Latina's. "Don't be nervous," she whispered against the soft skin. "It's just me."

Callie allowed herself to be lost in the blonde's touch. Her body ignited with each touch of Arizona's lips against her own. As Arizona traced her fingers up Callie's arms, the pleasure was so intense that it was almost painful. Soft whimpers and moans filled the room as they peeled the clothes from their bodies and landed on the bed. Arizona smiled as she hovered above the brunette's body. Callie wound her fingers through the blonde locks belonging to the woman rapidly descending her body. Her eyes squeezed closed as she gave herself over completely, gasping and losing herself to Arizona Robbins.

* * *

><p>AN: I know that some of you may have been hoping for a more detailed sex scene, since I do write them. I'm not ruling it out in the future, but tonight it just didn't feel right, so I didn't write it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

All my best,

~KB~


	11. What You Want

A/N: Happy Spring everyone! I know I don't update nearly as often as I should, but thank you for continuing to stick with this story! Special shout out to Louisa17 who went through, read and reviewed every story of mine in an alarmingly short amount of time. Also to my fiancée and beta, Alleon, who read this through super fast (sorry if she missed anything) at 1am.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: What You Want<p>

Spring break started in just two days. Callie sat on Arizona's futon, watching the blonde zip around the room and gather her clothes. Perhaps the Latina should have taken a cue from her overzealous girlfriend, as she had not yet begun to pack. Normally this wouldn't be a huge problem, but she was leaving with Arizona in two days, to go to the White House, and meet the President.

Arizona's father.

Shit.

Callie groaned audibly, throwing her head back against the futon, and burying her face in the pillows.

"It really won't be that bad, Calliope," Arizona said, dropping a dress into her suitcase. "My mother already likes you a lot."

"It's not your mother I'm worried about," the brunette grumbled, her eyes closing in frustration.

"My father will like you too," the blonde said, pausing as she began to unzip her jeans, "though he probably will never tell you, and he'll glare at you a lot. There's no reason to be afraid."

Callie opened one eye, trying to sneak a peek as Arizona slid her jeans down her body. She was rewarded with the sight of her girlfriend's toned, bare legs. "I'm not scared," she managed to respond, her eyes fixated on Arizona's calves.

"Sure you aren't," the blonde said, a smirk tugging on her lips as she stepped into a pair of short khaki shorts. "And don't think I don't see you looking, Torres."

Callie propped herself up on the futon, shooting a playful glare at her girlfriend who was in their little changing area. "I can always not look you know…if that's what you'd rather have happen."

The blonde rolled her eyes as she stepped through the curtain. "Oh shut up," she said, approaching Callie. She pushed the Latina back down, straddling her hips. Arizona hovered over her lover, her lips playfully dancing over the skin of Callie's neck. "You know I like it when you look."

Callie bit her lip as her body succumbed to Arizona's flirty game. They went from playful to sexy, zero to sixty, in about two seconds, and Arizona was making it quite clear that Callie was just along for the ride. Ever since their night in the cities, Arizona was insatiable. Callie wasn't complaining; it had just taken her by surprise. The bubbly, perky, and somewhat childlike person that was her girlfriend apparently doubled as a sexually confident woman.

In hindsight, the Latina didn't know what she expected, but this confidence exuding from Arizona threatened to be the death of her. She could flick a switch from giggles to moans in a millisecond, placing Callie under her spell. It was damned impressive and also infuriating. If Callie thought she was horny before they started having sex, she had no idea what Arizona was capable of now that Pandora 's Box had been opened. One touch, one kiss, one whimper, and Callie lost herself in memories of how Arizona smelled, how she felt, how she tasted…it was damn near torture. Torture Callie never wanted to end.

"Mmm Arizona," she moaned shakily, "I really have to go."

"No you don't," the blonde hushed, grinding her hips against Callie's. "I know you want to stay."

"I do," the Latina hissed, her eyelids fluttering as her girlfriend nipped at her neck. "But I have to go to my meeting."

Arizona pushed off the brunette, pouting as she still straddled the hips of the woman beneath her. "You don't have to do anything; you want to."

Callie sighed. "You're right. I do want to go; it makes me happy. Maybe you should come with me sometime."

"Too gay for me," Arizona dismissed as she got off Callie and went back to her suitcase, throwing a few more garments into the bag. "You have fun though."

"Thanks," the Latina answered, trying to ignore the tension that had emerged in the room. "I'll see you in an hour or so. Maybe we can pick up where we left off?" she suggested hopefully.

The mischievous glint returned to Arizona's sparkling blue eyes. "Who says I'll even want to, Calliope?"

Callie stepped closer to her girlfriend, a smirk dancing across her lips. "I know you. And I'm irresistible."

The blonde smacked Callie with one of her shirts. "Oh stop it! You aren't that hot."

The Latina quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

A smoldering glare lingered in Arizona's darkening blue eyes. "Really."

Callie didn't waste a second, before pinning the smaller woman against the wall with her body. Her lips crashed against Arizona in a frenzy, relishing in the moans and whimpers falling from the blonde's lips. Her hands roamed the toned body belonging to the woman beneath her. Callie knew she was being a little mean, but Arizona said she wasn't hot.

She was totally hot.

Slowing her kisses, Callie peeled her body from Arizona's, leaving the smaller woman breathless against the cold surface of their dorm room wall. "I'll be back in an hourish. Try not to miss me too much." She smirked in the doorway as Arizona grumbled under her breath. "What was that?"

"Hurry back," the blonde demanded, the arousal still evident in her eyes.

Callie winked and closed the door behind her. Walking briskly down the Hoyme stairs, she had an extra pep in her step. She was probably going to be a little late to the meeting, but usually they started late anyway. Crossing the Hoyme parking lot, she strode quickly along the sidewalk to Buntrock. She took the stairs to Valhalla two at a time, entering the room just as the meeting started.

Callie collapsed in a chair with a sigh of relief. She tried to catch her breath from rushing across campus, her hand fanning herself so she could calm down a little bit. Tonight's meeting was the Pride Week wrap-up discussion. Last week, GLOW! put on a ton of events to celebrate the queer and allied community on campus. Callie had been able to go to a few events, but not all of them, partly because of time and partly because she didn't want to piss off Arizona too much. The one event she had been upset she'd missed, though, was Drag Ball. Listening to the group talk about it now reinforced her disappointment that she had been unable to attend.

Instead of dressing in drag and going to dance the night away with some drag queens, Callie had opted to hang out with Arizona, who wanted nothing to do with the event. She didn't regret her decision to stay in with the blonde; they'd had a good time in their own right, but apparently Drag Ball had been a great time. There was something so comforting to Callie about feeling completely welcome in a space. She and Arizona had gone to Pause Dances together and danced, but they didn't _dance_. One night of fluid identities, both gender and sexual, with no judgments and no questions, sounded like the closest thing to perfect Callie could ever heard.

She didn't resent Arizona or anything like that. They were in a great place overall; they just didn't really talk about GLOW!. Arizona was completely disinterested in the topic, and Callie was totally enthralled by her discovery of a community with whom she could have deep and meaningful conversations about her sexuality, and from whom she could learn astronomical amounts. She didn't think Arizona held anything against her either, but was simply not willing or interested in being a part of the community. That was her choice, and as long as it didn't interfere with Callie's interests, then it wouldn't be a big deal.

The room began to empty out as the meeting concluded. She saw Brian approaching her, and greeted him with a smile. "Hey."

"Hey," he returned warmly. "I just wanted to tell you that we got the house."

"We did?" Callie exclaimed excitedly.

"We did," Brian nodded. "We'll meet after Spring Break to discuss details, but in the mean time, if you know of anyone that might want a spot in the house, we can add one more."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Great, I'll see you after break," Brian replied, his smile shining.

"Definitely," Callie responded, her own excitement still bubbling within her. She couldn't believe this had happened. Three weeks ago, Brian had approached her about living in an honor house with other members of the Olaf LGBTQA community. She hadn't told anyone that she applied to get into the house; much less that she had been accepted. St. Olaf didn't have fraternities or sororities, instead the school had an honor house system. Some houses were permanent, but others had to apply for spaces. GLOW's house, the St. Olaf Queer Support and Outreach House, was one of the latter. So, in addition to applying for acceptance into the idea of a house, Callie, then, helped with the overall house application, which Brian had just said was accepted. She was excited and scared at the same time. STOQSO would be a lot of work, but she knew it would be worth it.

Now she just had to tell Arizona.

* * *

><p>Cristina worked through the titration lab with relative ease, taking just enough time and care to ensure the quality of her work. Meredith stood at the station next to her, looking equally as bored. Burke didn't let them stay together after the first couple of labs, because he wanted the two of them to learn to work with other people and also to help them with the material. It reminded Cristina of elementary school, which was definitively not a good thing. She'd hated elementary school. It was full of colors, smiles, and undeserved pats on the back. She'd let Burke have it after he switched them, but he remained steadfast in his decision. It was infuriating.<p>

And kind of hot.

Cristina liked that she couldn't dominate him. Her opinions never forced him to change his mind. She learned from him and admired him. She never wanted to disappoint him, which was why she didn't tell him about the baby. He never had to know, and they could continue on as they were. Her hand drifted to her stomach subconsciously, her face flinching as a shot of pain ripped through her body. Cristina's mind clouded as her head began to spin. Eyelids fluttering, she managed to make eye contact with Meredith through the blur before collapsing to the floor.

"Cristina!" Meredith shouted, abandoning her lab station to tend for her friend. "Somebody call an ambulance!"She looked on helplessly as Cristina laid on the floor. She tilted back her friend's head, opening her airway and increasing the flow of oxygen. She was breathing shallowly. Time seemed to stand still as she diligently cared for Cristina the best she could. She avoided looking over at Burke, not caring to see either the overwhelming concern or the ambivalent gaze washing over his face.

The EMTs seemed to move in slow motion. Meredith watched in silence as they lifted her best friend onto a stretcher. She heard nothing and couldn't see beyond the blur of her tunnel vision. She saw Burke heading towards the door, his brow wrinkled in concern. She jumped up from the floor and sprinted in front of him. "You've done enough," she hissed, cutting off his access from Cristina. She followed the EMTs out to the ambulance, climbing in behind the stretcher.

Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out the sound of the sirens. They put an oxygen mask around Cristina's face, attempting to stabilize her as they rushed to Northfield hospital. Thankfully it wasn't more than two minutes away. Meredith trailed behind as they rushed her best friend through the emergency room, a staff of people already running alongside the gurney. "She's pregnant," Meredith whispered to an EMT, who quickly rushed to the crowd of people.

Taking out her phone, Meredith quickly fired off a few texts to the rest of her friends, figuring they would want to know what was happening. They were all supposed to spend their last night before break partying at Meredith's house, not crowded around the hospital bed of their friend.

This sucked.

_Cristina collapsed in lab. I'm at the Northfield hospital._

"Shit!" Callie exclaimed, sitting up in bed.

Arizona turned over, frowning, "Are you seriously looking at your phone right now?"

"Cristina's in the hospital. She collapsed in lab."

"Oh my God!" the blonde gasped. "Why?"

Callie shrugged. "No idea. Meredith just texted me."

Arizona reached for her phone, which sat on the dresser. Seeing the text from Meredith, she answered. "Yeah, me too. Do you want to go over there? Meredith is probably alone."

The Latina nodded. "Yeah. Where's Teddy?"

"Mark's?" the blonde suggested.

"I thought that was over."

"He's kind of like candy," Arizona mused.

"Ewww!" Callie groaned. "I cannot believe you just said that. That is disgusting!"

"Just sayin."

The Latina moved and hip checked Arizona off the bed, the blonde cursing as she landed on the ground with a thud. "We should get going."

"You're an ass."

Callie smirked as she wrapped her body in a sheet, majestically sliding off the shitty mattress masquerading as a bed. She offered her hand to the blonde, pulling Arizona up off the floor, and wrapping her in the sheet as well. "But I'm your ass."

"Come on, let's go find Teddy and head to the hospital."

Within a few minutes, Callie and Arizona were dressed and ready to go. Holding hands, they left the dorm room, and descended the stairs to Mark's room. Knocking on the door, Callie waited for someone to answer, not at all surprised when Mark did so, wearing only his boxers. "What's up?"

Arizona rolled her eyes before looking at Callie, expecting her to answer him. "Have you seen Teddy?" the Latina asked. "We need her to come with us."

"Staging a kidnapping?"

"Cristina's in the hospital."

"No shit, really?" Mark asked surprised.

"Mark! Who's at the door?" Teddy called from inside the dorm.

"It's us!" Arizona answered. "Get up, we have to go to the hospital?"

"What? Why?" Teddy asked, a worried expression on her face as she approached the door.

"Meredith told us Cristina collapsed during lab, so she went with her to the hospital."

"Holy shit."

"I know."

Teddy grabbed her jacket and pushed past Mark. "I'll see you later, Mark."

Callie swiped the keys off of Mark's desk. "Thanks for the car!"

The women quickly exited the room and made their way down the stairs. Mark's car was parked right out front, so that wasn't an issue. The car ride was short and relatively silent, with just the music playing in the background. Closing the car doors behind them, the three women quickly walked into the hospital and towards the info desk.

"Hi," Callie smiled kindly, "we're looking for our friend, Cristina Yang."

The receptionist looked through the files before settling on a name. "Yes, she came in about two hours ago. You may wait for her in the waiting room."

"I'm trying really hard not to be freaked out," Arizona murmured as she walked between the two other women.

"I'm sure it's fine," Callie reassured, gently caressing the blonde's arm.

"Let's change the subject."

"OK," Callie agreed. "What were you doing in Mark's room, Teddy?"

Arizona snorted. "I think we already know why she was in Mark's room."

"Good point," the brunette conceded.

"Where was Derek?" the blonde asked.

"Addison's," Teddy supplied without thinking.

Callie coughed. "Excuse me what?"

"Hey there's Meredith," Arizona pointed over towards the window.

Dropping the current subject, the women rushed over to their friend, demanding to know what was happening. Meredith explained what she knew as calmly as she could, conveniently leaving out that Cristina was actually pregnant. None of them knew, with the exception of Meredith. She was confident Cristina wanted it kept that way, especially since to her friend, this wasn't really a thing. As far as Meredith knew, Cristina wanted nothing to do with children. She didn't want any, and wasn't planning on hanging out with ankle biters in the near future. Meredith understood that about Cristina, but she didn't know if the others would.

Before they could sit down, though, a doctor emerged from the wherever this hospital kept their doctors. Meredith put on her brave face as she heard him utter the words ectopic pregnancy, fallopian tube burst, and surgery recovery. Her mind swam with thoughts as she tried to process it all. By the time the doctor left, Meredith was bombarded with more questions. She tried to answer her friends the best that she could, but the effort drained her remaining energy. All she wanted to do was sleep. She decided against calling Cristina's mother until Cristina told her to, which would probably be never. If she was in Cristina's position, she wouldn't want anyone to call her mother, and would probably kill anyone who did.

Callie, Arizona, and Teddy all left before Cristina came out of the anesthesia, promising to stop by before they departed for break. Meredith let out a sigh as she collapsed against the chair next to her friend's hospital bed. She fought the sleep threatening to overtake her, not wanting to take the chance of missing Cristina waking up. She blinked through her own unshed tears. Blaming stress, she sighed as she felt the emotion well up within her. She tried not to feel guilty about Cristina, but they had gone jogging that morning, and both were dealing with unbelievable amounts of stress. Still, Meredith had leaned on Cristina to help her get through her own problems with Derek. They went jogging and then Cristina's fallopian tube burst.

And she didn't even like jogging.

She was just so tired; tired of school; tired of stress; and most of all, tired of Derek and all his drama. She put in so much time hating him, and all she wanted was a hug from him. He could be so caring and giving, which made it nearly impossible to hate him.

Her eyes were drawn back to Cristina, as the Asian woman began to cough as she woke up from anesthesia. Her eyelids fluttered open, the brown pools looking around in confusion. "Cristina," Meredith said, grasping her hand, "Cristina, hey."

"What happened?" she asked.

"You collapsed in lab. You had an ectopic pregnancy and your fallopian tube burst."

"Shit," Cristina groaned. "That explains the abdominal pain."

Meredith couldn't help but crack a smile. "Yep."

"I take it that I had surgery."

The other woman nodded. "Yes, you did."

"I feel sad," Cristina commented, looking out the window.

"You could cry?" Meredith suggested.

Cristina turned and glared at her friend. "I don't cry."

"I'm just saying that you could, and I wouldn't tell anyone."

"This is why we're friends."

"Cristina?" a deep voice came from the doorway. Meredith trained her eyes on the door, her gaze fixating on her chemistry professor.

"Meredith, could you?" Cristina asked softly.

"Yes of course," Meredith said, standing from her chair next to the bed. She walked out of the room silently, her eyes boring into Burke's, conveying the message of her displeasure loudly, and in stark contrast to her vocal silence.

She needed air. The stress of her current situation had suddenly become completely suffocating. While she had been in Cristina's hospital room, the heavens had opened up, rain drops falling from the sky. The cold water splashed down on her face, but Meredith couldn't find the strength to move. She didn't have any fight left in her, so she just let go in the rain. Her tears mixed with the water as she lifted her face to the sky.

"Meredith?"

Meredith lowered her head, her green eyes finding the blue ones belonging to Derek Shepherd. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Cristina and figured you could use a friend," Derek said, taking a couple steps towards her.

"Don't," she commanded, her silent tears becoming more vocal sobs. "Please just don't say anything."

Derek sighed and remained still. "Ok."

Meredith sniffled and breathed, trying to regain her composure. "I'm just exhausted. School is exhausting, what happened to Cristina…and you. Hating you is the most exhausting." She stepped forward, and gently pressed her lips against his, not caring about how she might look or his reaction. "I don't want to do it anymore." Offering a small smile, she walked back into the hospital, leaving Derek in the rain.

* * *

><p>"I could get used to this," Arizona said, an air of content lilting in her voice.<p>

"I like flying with you," Callie smiled.

Arizona returned the brunette's smile as she relaxed into the leather of the seat. She and Callie were en route to Washington D.C. in Callie's jet. Well, her father's jet. It was very different from Air Force One. The famed plane used by the President was a gigantic meeting room that hovered a few miles in the air. Arizona never felt nearly as comfortable on that jet as she did here with Callie. Of course that also could have had something to do with the beautiful Latina seated across from her.

"I like flying with you too."

"Ugh," Callie groaned, "are we there yet?"

"Hey!" Arizona chastised playfully, "You just said you liked flying with me."

"I'm just really excited," the brunette confessed. "I've never been to D.C. and we're on break, and I barely have any work, and I get to learn all the White House secrets from you, and even see the bowling alley."

"You're so adorable when you're happy," the blonde commented with a genuine smile. "I hope you have a great time."

"Thanks, me too," Callie responded, her eyes returning to her book as the flight continued.

Arizona surveyed the cabin of the plane, noticing very quickly that they were alone. There was only one staff person on board in addition to the pilot, and she was sitting up in the cockpit; she had been all flight. Arizona stood from her chair and crossed the aisle quickly, hovering above her girlfriend.

"Um, Arizona?" Callie stammered, looking up over her copy of East of Eden.

"Shhh," the blonde hushed, settling on Callie's lap. "No one is around."

"But…"

Arizona cut her off with a kiss, immediately burying herself in the sexiness that was her girlfriend. She swallowed the brief groans of protest, winding her hands in Callie's dark locks. After a few moments, the Latina succumbed to the blonde's advances, her protests devolving into moans of appreciation. She squirmed underneath Arizona's touch, her body craving more friction. The blonde's fingers danced up Callie's thighs, digging into the toned flesh, and knowing that it would tease her girlfriend beyond belief. She smiled as she was rewarded with a deep groan of pleasure from Callie.

"Arizona…"

"Hmm?" The blonde asked as she lavished attention on Callie's neck.

"We shouldn't…" she sighed, upon feeling Arizona's hands run along her breasts, "do this."

Cupping her lover's breasts fully, Arizona husked in the brunette's ear, "we shouldn't?"

"Just…be quick," Callie replied, deciding to throw caution to the wind and just embrace this adventurous start to Spring Break.

Arizona didn't reply, instead she just winked as she descended down the body of her lover, flicking open the button of her jeans, and nipping at the inside of her thigh.

Happy Spring Break indeed.


	12. Countdown

A/N: Well…my muse has apparently awakened with a vengeance. Once I started this chapter, I couldn't stop, and it's a total monster. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for sticking with this story.

I've experienced quite a bit of negative reaction the past few updates I've posted, regardless of the story. I do not mind constructive criticism, but I ask that the personal attacks please be stopped. It's not just me…there are a handful of authors who have been experiencing this, and it's poisoning the community. So please, if you have a constructive comment and/or a negative reaction, please keep it to the fics, and not my character.

Thank you and Happy Reading,

~KB~

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Countdown<p>

The plane touched down, the force drawing both Callie and Arizona from their in flight slumber. Arizona squeezed the Latina's hand tightly, the jarring of the landing causing her to go into a brief panic. "I'm sorry," she whispered as blinked her eyes into focus. "I hate landings."

"It's ok," Callie said with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to the blonde's knuckles. "I know flying isn't your favorite thing ever. Though," she continued with a smoldering glint appearing in her brown eyes, "I'd be willing to bet you had a pretty good time on this flight."

"I think it was you who had the good time," Arizona fired back, winking as she stood up to stretch her legs.

"Touché."

The blonde looked out the window and took a deep breath. She could see the limo waiting for them just outside the hanger. Next to it stood her agents, Karev and Avery, accompanied by whom she thought was Mr. Webber, the head of the Secret Service, and her surrogate father if she ever had one. In that moment, she realized that this trip could be more difficult than she'd imagined. Arizona had grown accustomed to not being constantly watched. She never truly thought about her actions when she was in Northfield, but now that she had returned home, there was no choice. She and Callie were going to live under surveillance for a week.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"You ok?" Callie asked, pulling the blonde out of her thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine," Arizona said, smiling through her white lie. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"How excited I am to bring you home," the blonde answered.

"I'm excited too, but I'm also really nervous," she confessed. "I hope your parents like me."

"I've told you a thousand times," Arizona declared, quickly kissing Callie on the nose, "they will love you."

"I know. I'm lovable right?"

The blonde smirked and pressed her body into her girlfriend's. Distracting Callie with sexy things seemed to be a good bet. It usually was. "Very."

Callie felt her heart swell at the words. She and Arizona had not exchanged those three little words yet, but to hear her even hint at the possibility that she might be falling as hard as Callie was incited a depth of feeling the likes of which, the Latina had never felt. "Thank you."

"I have to warn you though," Arizona started, a deep look of concern on her face, "this is not going to be a simple experience."

"What do you mean?" Callie asked, now seriously worried and freaked out.

"I just want you to be aware that we will have secret service agents around, watching us for most of the time."

"I know, Arizona," Callie answered. "It will be fine."

"Ok," the blonde responded, dropping a quick kiss on the brunette's lips. "You ready?"

The Latina smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Arizona squeezed her girlfriend's hand, standing, and leading them over to the door of the jet. Letting go of Callie's hand, she carefully navigated the deplaning steps, and waited patiently for Callie to do the same. Once off the plane, she and Callie were immediately flanked by Karev and Avery on either side of them, their large presence casting the shadow that constantly reminded Arizona of her father's importance, and their potential danger.

Thankfully, they made it to the car quickly. Their bags were loaded for them. With a smile, Arizona ushered her girlfriend into the car, sliding in quickly behind her. "That wasn't so bad," Callie said, squeezing the blonde's hand for additional impact. "it'll be ok."

"I hope so," the blonde muttered as the car backed out of the hanger, driving across the tarmac in the direction of their destination. Arizona looked out the window as her fingers laced through Callie's, her eyes scanning the familiar terrain of the city that had been her home for the last couple of years. She missed Chicago and its towering skyline that twinkled in the night light, but D.C. was nice. It wasn't organized on a grid like Chicago was, and it didn't seem as urban sometimes, which was different. Arizona loved to explore the city on her own during lazy, Saturday afternoons. Her father wasn't a huge fan of that habit, but as long as she took secret service agents with her, he never truly contested. Plus, most of the time, he was busy running the country, and couldn't be bothered with his teenaged daughter's whereabouts.

Sometimes she wondered if he was disappointed. Her brother went to the Naval Academy, her father's alma mater, and was set to follow in his footsteps to be a marine. Arizona, on the other hand, turned down an Ivy League education in favor of matriculating to St. Olaf College, majoring in Chemistry. Granted, she was Pre-Med, and was pretty intelligent, but somehow Arizona felt that was counteracted by the fact she was a lesbian, and therefore a gigantic political liability.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, the blonde let herself relax in the company of the most amazing woman she had ever met. Her relationship with Callie had been a whirlwind. They played stupid games with one another, which delayed what they both truly wanted, but inevitably they had succumbed to their desires. Their relationship had really only begun, they were four months in, but the emotional intimacy had come almost immediately. And now that they had been physically intimate, they were closer than ever. It was scary how in tune they were, and how connected she felt to her girlfriend. She had never felt so involved with another human being, platonically or romantically. And while her heart fluttered and skin tingled, Arizona was also irreparably terrified. Callie came home with her to meet her parents.

Her parents…oh God.

Arizona loved her parents; they were great people. They also had the ability to scare any one of her girlfriends off without so much as a backwards glance. Her mother had loved Callie when they first met, but that was when Arizona only had a crush on the woman. Her mother had also stood on her side when her father had chastised her for dating, which Arizona still found to be preposterous. Though, now that their relationship seemed to be airing on the side of serious as opposed to frivolous, she expected the First Lady to be a little more intimidating and Mama Bearlike than in their previous meeting. Callie had been great through everything, but Arizona could tell the Latina was nervous. She fidgeted next to her, the hand not clinging to Arizona's frantically playing with the hem of her skirt.

"Everything is going to be fine," Arizona whispered, gently kissing her girlfriend's cheek.

"Oh I know," Callie replied hastily, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm excited."

The blonde gave Callie's hand a knowing squeeze. "Just be yourself."

Exhaling, the Latina offered Arizona a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Arizona replied.

"Oh we're here!" Callie exclaimed, gesturing towards the White House just in front of them.

The blonde chuckled softly. "Yes we are."

"Honestly, I'm still in awe that you actually live here and I get to see the White House."

"Honestly, I'm still in awe that I live here."

Callie swatted her playfully. "Shut up!"

"I was being serious!" the blonde defended as she laughed.

"Whatever."

"Oh are you pouting now?" Arizona teased, gently tickling the Latina's ribs.

"Arizona," Callie whined, "cut it out."

"Ok ok," she conceded. "I'm sorry. Stop worrying so much and just flash that beautiful smile of yours."

"You're the one with the super magic smile," Callie commented.

"Ok now you stop," Arizona ordered, "you're making me blush."

The brunette leaned in and pressed a tender kiss against Arizona's lips. "Thank you for inviting me home with you."

"Thank you for coming home with me," the blonde returned, capturing her lover's lips in a less than chaste kiss. Thankfully, the barrier was up between the backseat and the driver, because the two women soon gave into their passion for one another. They were not frantically and sloppily making out with one another, but Arizona still did not want her driver to see exactly what she and Callie were up to in the back seat. This seemed to be much too intimate for that.

They separated when the car stopped, lightly jarring them apart. Arizona blushed, casting her eyes down as she straightened herself. She took a calm, collected breath, and gave Callie a quick peck on the cheek. The car door was opened for them, and the blonde helped her girlfriend from the car. Callie tried not to appear too overwhelmed, but she was inside the White House gates, on the lawn. Of course she was freaking out.

"Here we go," Arizona said with a smile. She dropped her hand from Callie's as they came into potential view of the gates, choosing instead to stand a respectable distance from the beautiful woman next to her. It killed her to take a step away, but she could hear the shutters clicking across the South Lawn. Her father would kill her if she ruined this visit within the first two minutes of her arrival. It was just a couple of feet; they could manage.  
>Callie pretended she wasn't immediately flustered by the sudden physical distance of her girlfriend. She was definitely a little unsettled by it, mostly because she could tell it was intentional. To be fair, she and Arizona weren't attached at the hip and into copious amounts of PDA in their everyday life, but it also wasn't often that Arizona took a step away from her either. They were affectionate people, and losing that affection caused her to get a little frowny.<p>

She pushed that feeling aside, however, as Arizona stopped them in front of the door to the most spectacular building Callie had ever seen. The blonde pushed the door open to the Diplomatic Reception Room, ushering Callie into the space to receive ambassadors, but also served as the primary entrance from the South Lawn. The Latina tried to maintain her cool and not die from excitement. She followed her blonde girlfriend around the ground floor as she babbled about a lot of rooms. She heard China, library, and something about flowers and maps. Callie struggled with such sensory overload that trying to contemplate exactly where they were going was futile, a fact that surely Arizona figured out.

Arizona led them up to the second floor of the residence, and towards her bedroom. She didn't know which room her parents preferred Callie to sleep in, so she planned to have her girlfriend store her stuff in her bedroom for the time being. Part of Arizona had initially hoped her parents would let them stay in the same bedroom, but she knew such a thought was laughable. That was a fight she knew not to start this visit. She and Callie had barely been together for a few months. If they were still together into her father's second term, then they could have that fight. As it stood, however, this visit was relatively uncharted territory for her parents. Tim had never brought anyone to the White House. She hesitated to say home, because she didn't necessarily view the expansive mansion as her home, but the concept still applied. Callie was the first visitor of a romantic sort to come "home" with either of the Robbins children.

Arizona had kept that tidbit of information to herself.

She pushed open the door to her room, and smiled. Her father had allowed her to practically recreate her room at their home in Chicago, so she would still have a sense of home when she returned from boarding school and college, even though she spent most of her time away. It certainly provided her with an air of comfort each time she returned to the President's estate.

"This is your room?" Callie asked, taking in her surroundings.

Arizona nodded. "Yep, it's basically the same as my room in Chicago."

"That's cool."

The blonde nodded, and motioned to Callie's bags in the corner. "We'll just keep your stuff here until I know what room you'll be staying in."

"Then what? You'll move my bags for me?" the Latina teased.

"Nope, I'll have Karev and Avery do it."

Callie threw her head back and laughed. "You just don't lift a finger when you're here do you?"

Arizona grinned wickedly as she dug her fingers into the brunette's hips; just the way she knew Callie liked it. "Depends on the type of lifting."

"Arizona Jane!" Callie admonished jokingly. Her face became serious as she looped her hands around the blonde's neck. "I'm glad I'm here."

In spite of all the cautionary thoughts she'd had on the flight and in the car, Arizona couldn't help but agree. They were going to have a great time together, her father be damned. She was excited. "Me too."

Callie pulled the blonde in for a slow kiss. Their lips tenderly collided over and over again as they lost themselves in one another. Arizona sighed in content as she felt Callie's tongue gently slide against hers. The blonde's hands buried themselves in Callie's dark waves. It never ceased to amaze her how good this woman felt. Their bodies molded together perfectly. Everything about Callie was just simply intoxicating; she often lost track of what was going on around her anytime they kissed…which would explain why she hadn't heard footsteps approaching down the hall, or the tell-tale click of her mother's heels against the linoleum of the hallway.

"Ahem," a throat cleared in the doorway.

Arizona jumped away from the Latina so fast, she nearly tripped over her own feet. She cursed under her breath as she straightened herself, before turning to face the person in the doorway. "Hi Mom," she said, trying to smile through the blush adorning her cheeks.

"Arizona," her mother gushed, "it's good to have you home." She stepped forward to embrace her daughter. "Next time, shut the door, Sweetie," she whispered quietly, so Callie wouldn't hear.

"Understood," Arizona replied.

"And it's good to see you again Callie. Last time we met, I was in a bit of a rush."

"I understand, Mrs. Robbins. Thank you for allowing me to stay with you over break," the Latina answered with a smile.

"And she's polite," Barbara cooed. "Arizona, you should head over to the West Wing to say hello to your father. He's going to be gone for the next couple of days on business, but he wanted to make sure he had a chance to see you today."

"He couldn't be relatively free for a few days?" Arizona huffed.

Callie wordlessly grabbed the blonde's hand in order to comfort her, a gesture which did not go unnoticed by Barbara. "He couldn't move this one, but he cleared the rest of his evenings for when he gets back. He figured you would be showing Callie around D.C., since she's never been here," the First Lady said as she turned to exit the room.

"How did she know that?" the Latina whispered.

"We looked you up, of course," the older Robbins replied smoothly. "We couldn't let our daughter date just anyone."

"Oh my God," Callie said, swallowing the lump in her throat. Ok, now she was a little afraid.

"Go see your father, Arizona," Barbara called over her shoulder, "and call me Barbara, Callie."

Arizona raised her eyebrows as her mother retreated down the hall. "She likes you."

"She's terrifying."

"But she likes you," Arizona repeated.

"And now we have to go meet your father?" Callie questioned, hoping they could eek out of it.

"Apparently," the blonde answered with a shrug. "Don't be nervous. It should be fine."

"Should be?" Callie squeaked. "He's the president."

Arizona squeezed Callie's hand again. "It. Will. Be. Fine."

The brunette took a deep breath. "Ok, you're right. Let's go."

Arizona smiled as she led them down the hall towards the West Wing. She actually didn't go over there often. It was the business side of the White House, and consequently, Arizona found she wanted very little to do with it, and also it was another zone where she had to be someone other than herself. No one in her father's party or cabinet had any idea about her sexual orientation, and she'd been told multiple times that she had to keep it that way. She rebelled for about two seconds, going through a brief punk met Shane phase, looking a lot more masculine than she actually was, but it was short lived, partly because her father had nearly suffocated her with forcible seclusion, and partly because that wasn't her true personality and identity.

Once again, she let go of Callie's hand and distanced herself from the Latina, though it pained her to do so. It was just a fact of life for her. Some battles were worth fighting, but others would just cause more problems. They were just here for a week, and then she and Callie could return to the bliss of St. Olaf without worrying about the consequences of their every move. Arizona knocked gingerly on the door to the Oval Office, hoping this quick visit wouldn't turn into some big ordeal.

"Come in," the gruff voice of the President answered.

Arizona pushed the door open with a smile on her face. "Hi, Dad."

"Arizona!" the President exclaimed, standing from his chair. He crossed the room and embraced his daughter, just like any father should. "How was your trip?"

"Great," the younger Robbins answered. "Callie's jet is super comfortable."

"Her father's jet," the Colonel corrected quickly, his tone not lost on Callie.

"Speaking of," Arizona interjected, "Dad, this is my gi…"

"Pleasure to meet you Callie," Daniel said, cutting his daughter off. "Your father has been quite good to my campaign."

"He sends his regards, and hope that you can have dinner next time you're in Florida."

"For business I'm assuming."

Callie steeled her jaw and nodded. "Of course, Mr. President. I keep my promises, even from my family if I think it is important enough," she answered, looking at Arizona as she did so.

The President nodded, understanding Callie's coded words. "Well, I have to leave soon, but how about I walk you lovely ladies back to the residence, and show you Callie's room."

Arizona smiled at her father's unexpected warmth. He was a great person, and could be a fantastic father when he wasn't obsessing over elections and perceptions. He held out his arm for Arizona to loop hers through, leading them out of the West Wing. The blonde giggled and bopped next to her father as she walked with him. Callie trailed a few paces behind, afraid to interrupt their family moment, and also for fear of breaking the tenuous, silent agreement she had just penned in code a few seconds earlier.

This was going to be an excellent Spring Break.

* * *

><p>Callie sighed as she walked two feet away from her girlfriend down the streets of Washington. They were flanked by a couple of Secret Service agents, which surprisingly had not bothered Callie that much. She expected to be put off by having two massive guys following them everywhere, but it was the ocean wide gap between her and Arizona for most of the day that had truly begun to bother her. They would go out in the day, walk two feet apart, not touch, enjoy the sights, not touch some more, eat food, walk around some more, still not touch, and then get back to the White House, wait for the all clear, and Arizona would jump her bones.<p>

She had serious whiplash.

This just wasn't nearly as fun as she thought it would be. Even during the sex, she was distracted and pissed off, so it was mediocre at best. Sex was like pizza, though, so even when it was eh, still tasted pretty good. Still, though, this whole closet bullshit sucked. She felt like she and Arizona walked around in individual closets, separated by exactly two feet, with their doors facing away from one another. Plus, Callie still hadn't told the blonde about the STOQSO House; that was a fight she didn't want to have yet. And on top of it all, her father was coming home tonight, and they were all going to have dinner together.

On the up side, Washington D.C. was beautiful. She and Arizona had gone to museums and sights abound over the past two days. She'd seen everything, though her favorite had been the Library of Congress. Bonus of dating the President's daughter was getting to see all the extra special stuff and take secret passages sometimes. It was awesome. Definitely the highlight of the trip so far. She just wished she could enjoy the city with Arizona instead of accompanying her places.

They were heading back to the White House to prepare for dinner. Thankfully, Callie figured there would be some sort of nicer than casual events, so she packed a few nice dresses, one of which she would certainly wear tonight. She hated playing games, and playing a part, but she was good at it. She understood this tap dance she'd been dragged into and even though Callie resented it, she knew that playing was her only option.

Once they were safely behind the sealed doors of the White House, Callie received Arizona's flurry of kisses, closing her eyes to try and savor them. She watched as the blonde retreated to her own room, taking a deep breath as she disappeared. Callie was struggling. She didn't want to be angry or feel insignificant. She wanted to be completely understanding and cooperative, but she missed her girlfriend. She missed the laughing and enjoyment they could have spontaneously, and the kisses and the hugs. This arrangement deprived her of that fulfillment, and Callie would be lying if she said she wasn't cranky about it.

Slipping on her form fitting black dress, Callie exhaled, and waited for Arizona to come get her for dinner. She heard a knock on the door, and moved to open it. Her breath caught as she found Arizona on the other side. Callie wasn't surprised to see the blonde; rather her reaction came from the dress Arizona wore. It was a deep blue that really showed off her eyes, and clung to her body in ways that should have been illegal. It wasn't inappropriate in any way, but it damned well nearly forced away all of Callie's anger in favor of staying inside her room all night.

"You're staring, Torres," Arizona quipped, giving her girlfriend a quick link.

Callie straightened and flicked her eyes to Arizona's. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't?"

"Nope," the brunette answered. "No idea."

"Come on," the blonde laughed, "we're going to be late."

Callie returned her girlfriend's chuckle and followed her to the President's Dining Room, where Arizona's family typically shared meals. She calmed her nerves as she took a seat next to Arizona, and directly across from the President. Forcing a smile on her face, she nodded her acceptance of the meal for the evening, classic macaroni and cheese. She had expected something fancy, but the home cooked meal was a welcome relief from the gourmet food she ate at Olaf. She loved gourmet food, but sometimes Callie just wanted a relaxed meal that reminded her of home. Her mother had cooked traditional Cuban food for Callie and her sister, Aria, as they grew up, but she also served them classic American dishes, of which Mac-n-Cheese was easily the brunette's favorite.

"I bet you're excited," Arizona whispered, leaning over towards Callie.

"Oh you betcha," the Latina replied in a faux-Minnesotan accent, eliciting a flurry of giggles from her girlfriend.

"What was that?" Daniel asked as took a bite of his meal.

"Callie's favorite classic meal is Macaroni and Cheese," the blonde explained.  
>"And that fact has you giggling like a fool?" the President inquired, earning a bit of a glare from his wife.<p>

"No," Arizona answered with a forced smile, "that would be Callie's awful Minnesotan accent."

Barbara snorted, remembering her own fun at Olaf and those accents. "We used to have dinners where we only spoke with Minnesotan accents."

"Oh yeah?" Callie asked, unable to help herself.

"Darn tootin," Barbara replied, throwing her head back in laughter.

Daniel tried to keep a stern face, but his lips twitched upwards into a small smile, which he quickly wiped off his face as he cleared his throat. "So, what are you two planning to do for your next few days?"

"Well I think we were planning to go see a movie tomorrow, and I think Callie really wants to go to Six Flags America. She loves roller coasters."

"Well you can watch movies here," Daniel suggested, "and the weather is supposed to be sweltering the next couple of days, so you might want to reconsider leaving air conditioning."

"Daniel…" Barbara admonished. "They're just trying to have fun."

"Then they shouldn't have come here," the President hissed his response. "There's too much at risk."

"Dad, we're really careful," Arizona said, trying to help the situation. "And I really wanted for you to meet her."

"So you risk my whole political career to bring home someone you just met and have been dating for what? Four months?" Daniel fired back, practically yelling.

Callie clenched her jaw and tried not to let anything he said get to her, but it came increasingly obvious that she should not be present for this conversation. "Excuse me," she said, standing from the table, "I'll let you all talk."

"Calliope…"

"Don't," the Latina cut her off, heading down the hall towards her room.

"Thanks Dad," the blonde scoffed as she stood from the table as well.

"Don't get smart with me, Arizona. You put her in this situation out of selfish need to…"

"Meet my family?" Arizona interjected. "Oh yes, Mr. President, I'm selfish. Maybe you should consider the hurt you inflict on your family by being affiliated with an anti-gay party the next time you run for office, instead of focusing on your own personal ambition. You don't get to call me selfish."

"Arizona Jane Robbins!"

She didn't even listen to him, instead turning on her heel to chase after Callie, hoping to fix their night at least. She hated standing up to her father, and she hated even more that it made her cry every time. He had given her stupid authority issues, and she kind of hated him for it. Usually Tim was the one who stood up to him on her behalf, but he was in Annapolis, and there was no way she was going to bother him so that he would call to yell at their father…who also was the President of the United States.

Arizona knew she was right; she knew he was being an asshole, but that didn't mean she didn't understand his position. The scandal that would be caused if it was discovered that she was dating Callie would be unbelievably terrible. Her father was a traditional conservative, and didn't buy into a lot of the rhetoric that his party used, but he wouldn't be able to escape the fallout. It would tank any sort of reelection bid, and Arizona didn't know if she could live with herself if it ended up being her fault.

"Calliope?" She said hesitantly as she walked into the room.

"I'm right here," came the response from by the window.

Arizona had to pause and take in the beauty of her girlfriend as she stood in the moonlight. "Hi."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"We should probably talk about it."

"I don't want to fight with you."

Arizona frowned. "Who said we were going to fight?"

Callie sighed. "Arizona, I'm tired of feeling closted."

"It's not like that, Callie," the blonde defended.

"Isn't it?" the Latina fired back. "I can't touch you, can't kiss you, can't hug you…you won't even let me walk within a foot of you. We can't even act like we're good friends. You're so paranoid that we don't even interact in public."

"What do you want me to do? I can't be out all the time, Callie. I just can't. My father is…"

"The freaking President," the brunette finished, "yeah I know. You don't have to tell me who your family is Arizona."

"Well apparently I do, because you don't get it."

"What don't I get? That your father is a republican, so he can't be seen as moderately supportive of gay rights, that you can't be outed, and so on? Because you've made that crystal clear."

Arizona shook her head. "Then why are we having this conversation?"

"I'm living in the STOQSO house next year."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just letting you know. Your girlfriend is super bisexual and I'd hate to be too gay for you."

"That's not fair, Callie."

"Whatever maybe I should just go back to Miami."

"Maybe you should," the blonde hissed, wishing she could take back the words as soon as they left her mouth.

Callie's eyes widened and she brushed past Arizona, just needing to get out of that room before either of them caused more damage. She was just so angry, and upset. Maybe this whole trip had been a mistake; maybe they were just kidding themselves. If they stayed together for the foreseeable future, then it would be another two years before they could go public, and who knows if her father would even allow it to happen then. And that was all assuming that she could keep her identity concealed while at Olaf until halfway through their junior year. They were only coming to the end of year one, and it was only going to get harder. That was a tough realization.

She continued to explore the halls, not knowing where she was going at all. The White House was huge, and not particularly easy to navigate. Heading up the stairs, she saw the doors to the balcony were open. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Callie already felt worlds better than she had previously. She ran her fingers over the soft stone, and as she turned, her eyes found a piano.

"Yes," she exhaled, moving to sit on the bench. She gingerly fingered the keys, allowing them to situate under the delicate caress of her hands. The notes flowed freely out of her, and she was immediately brought back to when she first felt the tiny stirrings of her feelings for Arizona. They'd connected on such a deep level that day. Arizona told her about Caitlin, and they'd shared music, which for Callie was about as personal and intimate as she could be. Music was something she shared with other people, sure, but how she shared with Arizona that day continued to stay with her. If she had a bad day, Callie paid that practice room a visit. It was more than a room with a piano, it was a moment. A moment she was reliving now as the notes of Yellow floated through the night.

Music never ceased to ease her fears, or lift her spirits, and it proved to be what Callie needed this night. Within just a few minutes of playing and singing along, a genuine smile appeared on her face. She knew what was said tonight was out of frustration and anger. Callie had no intention of going back to Miami, and she hoped Arizona didn't want that. She didn't think she did. Hopefully they would both be able to sleep tonight, and talk in the morning. Callie just wanted them to be ok.

"That was beautiful," a voice said as she wrapped up the song.

Callie turned over her shoulder, her eyes meeting with Daniel's. "Thank you, sir."

The President nodded. "The conversation at dinner shouldn't have happened the way it did, and I wanted to apologize for that. My wife pointed out to me that perhaps you wouldn't feel welcome here, and I would like to tell you that you are welcome here."

"Thank you, Sir," Callie said simply, finding it best to not talk much in this situation.

"I also called Six Flags; you two can have the place to yourselves tomorrow night. No press, no cameras."

"I appreciate it."

"Good night, Callie."

"Good night, President Robbins."

"I think Colonel is appropriate."

"Yes, sir," Callie nodded. "Good night, Colonel."

She enjoyed the night air for a few more moments before heading back down to her room. It took a few minutes for her to find it, and she definitely got lost a few times, but eventually Callie managed to find her way back into bed. She relaxed against the pillows, her eyes wide open, and her brain running wild. She never could sleep well after being wound up. Maybe Arizona was still awake too. Slipping out of the covers, the brunette crossed the room, and opened her door. Pacing outside her room was none other than Arizona.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Oh hi!" Arizona screeched, startled by the sound of Callie's voice. "I was just um…"

Callie grabbed Arizona's hand and dragged her into the room, shutting the door behind them.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time, followed by a couple of giggles.

"You're father apologized to me."

Arizona raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He did?"

Callie nodded. "And we get to go to Six Flags tomorrow night…by ourselves. No one else will be there. He made a point of telling me that there would be no press and no cameras."

"So I can do this," the blonde said, lacing her fingers through Callie's. "And this," she whispered as she pressed her lips against the brunette's. "Mmm and I just love doing this." Arizona trailed her fingers down Callie's abdomen, eliciting a whimper from the Latina. She pulled back for a moment, a serious look appearing in her eyes. "I love you, Calliope."

"You do?"

The blonde nodded. "I do."

"I love you too," Callie said before recapturing the blonde's lips between hers. She steered them towards the bed, a devilish grin on her face as she began to undress her lover. Mediocre sex was a thing of the past. Tonight, she was going to blow this woman's mind.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! :)<p> 


	13. Enough is Enough

A/N: So…it wasn't a month between updates. Yay! I'm really hitting my stride with this fic and am loving writing. I hope you are all enjoying it as well. We're wrapping up the first year (just one more chapter left), so get pumped for that.

I want to thank you all sincerely for taking the time to read this fic (or any of my others). I truly enjoy writing them, but it makes it that much more enjoyable knowing you are liking what you read as well. I'll admit it hasn't been easy this past few months will all the hate that's been going around, but knowing that someone has liked the stuff I've written makes it easier to bear. You're all awesome, and I hope you enjoy this chapter…it's a bit of a trip down memory lane.

Happy Reading,

~KB~

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Enough is Enough<p>

Callie stretched as the morning light streamed through the window. She lazily pulled herself down from her bed, smoothing her crazy hair with her hand. As she stumbled to the bathroom, Callie began to realize that her first year of college was coming to an end. She and Arizona had come back from break just a week ago, and they only had a little over a month before finals. That was probably the most terrifying thing of all…finals. Thankfully, though, she didn't have to think about that quite yet. There was still time to avoid work, throw frisbies, and enjoy time with her girlfriend.

Things had largely returned to normal since they'd returned from Spring Break. She and Arizona had resumed their blissful relationship, getting along better than ever before, though if Callie was honest, she was determined to avoid Washington as much as possible. She never wanted to feel like she had during the first few days of Spring Break ever again. She'd never felt so uncomfortable in her life; it was like she wasn't even the same person. She definitely did not want to go through that again. She and Arizona hadn't talked about it again, but truthfully, there would be few times when it would be a possibility for Callie to visit over breaks anyway, so hopefully she could avoid it for another couple of years.

That was weird to think about.

Shaking her head, the Latina entered the bathroom, excited for her morning shower. As the year wore on, it became increasingly difficult to wake up and find the energy to move through the day. Showers were essential for Callie if she wanted to have any semblance of a working brain before noon. Sighing, she allowed the water to pelt against her skin, hoping she'd feel less tired and more motivated as time passed. After completing her morning shower, Callie stepped out of the stall, wrapped herself in her towel, and crossed the hall to her room. She put on her clothes for the day, not caring as she tripped over a pant leg and stumbled into the wall. Cristina made shit tons of noise in the morning, so she could deal with the brunette's antics this once.

As much as Callie loved her current living situation, she was beyond excited for more space next year. Instead of having a singular space for all of her stuff, she would share a bedroom, but have a living room, a basement, a kitchen, and a porch. So much space. Way more space than her barely big enough to spin around in room now. The best part was, Cristina was coming with her to the house.

Callie smiled as she thought about how that particular development had happened. Cristina had actually been a little upset with Callie when the brunette told her about the STOQSO House. That was, however, until Callie mentioned that Cristina could live there too, since they had one extra spot. It was the one time that Callie had actually gotten a glimpse of the type of friend Cristina was. Even though there would be commitments coming from living in the house, Cristina didn't even bat an eye. She actually wanted to live with Callie. Of course, she'd covered it up by muttering something about Callie being better than perky Robbins or Teddy, but the Latina wasn't fooled. They were friends.

She cursed as a pillow hit her in the back of the head. "What the hell?"

"Shut up," a groggy Cristina groaned. "You're too loud."

"Seriously?" Callie questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Can I have my pillow back?"

Callie chuckled and shook her head, tossing the pillow onto the futon in the corner. "No."

"I hate you."

"Love you too Cristina," The brunette sang back as she closed the door.

Callie walked down the hall and up to the lobby. She pushed open the door, taking long strides towards Buntrock. The weather was beautiful; the sun lighting up the campus, and the grass glimmering green. It was mornings like this that reminded Callie why the cold weather of the winter was worth giving up the consistent warmth of Miami. She loved the beaches and everything, but there was something charming about Minnesota she couldn't quite name.

Entering Buntrock, she took the stairs to the third floor, eager to get some food before class. She found Meredith in the back booth, their usual spot, and after getting herself a waffle, she joined her. It had become something of a routine for them this semester. They'd ended up in the same Chubby section (though Meredith had lab with Cristina), so in order to force the other out of bed at seven am, they had a standing breakfast date. It had been a little awkward at first given the circumstances of Meredith's love life and Callie's friendship with Addison, but the dust seemed to have settled a little bit.

At least she hoped.

"Hey," Callie said, smiling as she slid across from Meredith.

"Hi," Meredith said, attempting to smile.

"What's wrong?"

"It's the morning," came the reply.

Callie furrowed her brow. She knew Meredith was lying, but also knew the woman well enough to not push her when she obviously didn't want to discuss something. "Have you started reviewing for the final yet?"

Meredith shook her head. "I'm getting my ass kicked on this unit, so I haven't even started thinking about it."

"I can help you study if you want," the brunette offered. "The Torres Method is pretty successful."

Meredith raised her eyebrows. "The Torres Method? Really?"

"Don't knock it," Callie admonished, playfully tossing a grape at her friend. "It's a thing."

"Whatever you say, Callie," Meredith answered, rolling her eyes. She'd come to enjoy her early mornings with the Latina across from her. It was a little weird at first, but now it was like they were actually friends. Not that they disliked each other before, but she and Callie were usually together with other people because of their various connections, but they had never really struck up a friendship. It was typically a wave through the door as Meredith grabbed Cristina from Callie's room, or an awkward smile as they passed each other in the Hoyme stairwell. Very rarely were they alone and able to actually talk…at least until this semester.

Her semester had been so weird. Between school, Addison showing up, drama with Derek, and Cristina's pregnancy, it had been a total shit show. She was happy that things seemed to be winding down. Honestly, Meredith had felt so humiliated for most of the past months, that she actually wanted to go to the East Coast and escape Northfield. She needed space and time to think...and also to nurse her wounded pride. It didn't help matters that Addison looked like Isabella freaking Rossellini.

Stupid boys.

Meredith wished she could just be upset about it, and move on from Derek, but that proved to be difficult. She'd fallen in love with him over those four months, and that wasn't something she could just let go and get over. So instead she was pining. Meredith Grey didn't pine. She was more of a love 'em and leave 'em type, caring very little for relationships. Relationships were messy and hard work, neither of which were something she enjoyed in her social life. But she was still pining. And he was her stupid TA in Chubby this semester.

Once she and Callie finished their breakfast, they put up their trays, and headed over to Regents for their morning class. As usual, they were a little bit early, so they picked their favorite spot in the back corner. Meredith pulled out her iPad to play some Angry Birds before class, eliciting a few judgmental chuckles from Callie next to her. "What?"

"Nothing," Callie replied with a shake of her head. "You're just predictable."

"I am not," Meredith pouted as she launched a bird across the screen. "Anyway, blame Cristina. She's the one who got me hooked on this game."

"What am I being blamed for?" Cristina asked, walking up the stairs towards them.

Callie turned in her chair, surprised to see her roommate. "What are you doing here? Your section isn't for another few hours."

Cristina shrugged, not wanting to answer the question. Other than Meredith, no one knew what was going on with her. "Just felt like coming in early."

Meredith surreptitiously shot Callie a look, silently requesting a moment with Cristina before class started. The brunette instantly understood, standing from the table. "I'm going to run to the bathroom."

Cristina glared after Callie, picking up on what Meredith had just done. She felt cornered, and wasn't the least bit excited about it. "What do you want, Meredith?"

"Why are you here? It's 8AM and you hate mornings."

"I'm avoiding Burke."

"Because of the thing?"

"He dumped me," she confessed, looking down at the table.

Meredith put a comforting hand on Cristina's arm. "Tequila night?"

Cristina shrugged. "Maybe…" she trailed off as she watched Derek enter the room, looking not nearly as depressed as her friend. "Definitely, Tequila night."

"Good morning everyone," Derek said. "Professor Pierce is at home sick today, so we're just going to go over some brief things, and I'll have you all out of here early."

Meredith tuned him out after that. She didn't notice Callie rejoin their table in the back; all she could focus on was the perfect way his lips seemed to move, how amazing his hair looked, and how much she missed the Cobalt blue of his eyes. She missed him so much, and that fact just pissed her off even more. She didn't miss people; she didn't love people. Derek made her feel both of those things, and then some, but she'd been reluctant to tell him so. She wanted to be nice and play fair, but honestly, Addison could go screw herself. It's not like they're married.

Since that night at the hospital, she and Derek had been a little more friendly, but Meredith had still been distant. She didn't know what she wanted, but sitting in class this morning solidified her desires more than anything. She wanted to do stupid, cheesy things with Derek. She wanted to get to know him, and be with him.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the room emptying. Callie and Cristina had been trying to get her attention, but eventually just gave up as she stared into space.

"Meredith?" Derek's voice called, cutting through the silence of the now empty room.

Meredith's eyes came back into focus, connecting instantly with his blue ones, and sending shivers up her spine. "I'm not out."

"What?"

"I'm not out of this relationship. I'm in. I'm so in, that it's humiliating. Because…here I am, begging…"

"Meredith," Derek interrupted. "Jus…"

"Shut up," she commanded, knowing that if she didn't just say what she needed to in a rush, she'd never have the courage to do it. Even now, she was blaming sleep deprivation. "Ok. Here it is." She took a deep breath. "Your choice? It's simple, her or me. And I'm sure she's really great, but Derek, I love you," she confessed, her eyes getting a little misty. "In a really really big, pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your dorm room window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you…love you. So pick me. Choose me. Love me." She held up her fingers, to stop him as he tried to get closer. "I'll be in the Hoyme lounge tonight. If you do decide to be with me…meet me there."

Leaving Derek in a state of bewilderment, she grabbed her stuff and exited the room, the door gently closing behind her.

* * *

><p>Arizona relaxed quietly on her bed, book propped up on her abdomen as she flipped through the pages. She was attempting to study, but that wasn't exactly going well given the thoughts of a certain Latina currently filling her mind. It was hell just trying to get through a whole sentence. She hadn't seen Callie all day, which wasn't uncommon for a Thursday, since they both had lab and another class, but today she'd missed her girlfriend a lot. Of course it didn't help matters that she was currently horny as hell and had been since she woke up this morning. She'd probably jump Callie's bones the second she walked through the door.<p>

Sighing, Arizona let the book fall onto the bed. It was useless to attempt to concentrate any longer. There was just no way this was going to happen. She and Callie were in a much better place than they had been just a week ago. They'd had a blast the rest of the trip, finding more privacy in their jaunts off the White House grounds, and enjoying one another's company. Arizona had been more intentional about finding a balance of being friendly and intimate with Callie in public, without alerting people that they were indeed together, which she knew Callie appreciated. It wasn't like the Latina was demanding, and wanted overt displays of affection at all times, so Arizona could definitely accommodate her girlfriend's wishes. She just wanted to make her happy.

Being more active in the St. Olaf LGBT community seemed to be doing that for her as well. Arizona could admit that it made her a little nervous, but she bit back that concern as she watched Callie flourish and blossom, making friends and exploring her identity. For Arizona, that just wasn't appealing. She would never hold Callie back from that, but honestly, she didn't want to be a part of it. She didn't understand the need to be all obsessive about her "identity". She liked women and openly identified as a lesbian, but that wasn't who she was. She understood that for some people, it was the dominant source of their sense of self, but Arizona had other concerns. Being sucked into a community like GLOW! would only make her relationship with her father more strained. Besides, she couldn't even be honest about who she was. In addition to all that craziness, there was no way she was going to sit in a room and listen to people trash her dad. Callie explained that wasn't the goal of the group, but Arizona knew politics. She knew what side her father was technically "on", and she didn't agree with any of the social issues stances of the Republican Party, but then again neither did her father. But she couldn't just say that without revealing who she was.

So she avoided it, giving Callie excuse after excuse, until finally the Latina had just given up. It was for the best. This way, Callie could be happy and enjoy her new club, and get excited for her living situation next year, and Arizona could maintain her cover and relationship with her dad. It was totally a win-win.

For now anyway.

The blonde's head jerked up from the bed as she heard the door click open. A flash of dark hair caught her attention, her eyes resting on the gorgeous vision that was her girlfriend. She leapt off the bed and moved towards her at break neck speed.

"Hey Ariz…" she was cut off by the blonde practically launching herself into her arms. "Hi. Everything ok?"

"Yeah," Arizona sighed, her arms looping around Callie's neck. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too?" the brunette supplied, unsure of how she should respond. It hadn't been that long since she'd seen Arizona. As the blonde deftly flipped the lock closed, however, Callie quickly caught on to what kind of "missing" Arizona had been doing.

Arizona smirked at her girlfriend's surprise as she pressed the taller woman against the door. She captured the Latina's lips with her own, gently sucking and nibbling the bottom one, knowing it had a tendency to drive Callie a little bit crazy. Callie moaned upon feeling Arizona's tongue trace along her bottom lip and her thigh press upwards against her. When Arizona got like this, all Callie could do was close her eyes and enjoy the ride. Her body tingled everywhere, burning underneath the blonde's touch. Arizona had this ability to make a single touch quake through Callie's body straight to her core. Now, it was just fine, but it had a tendency to get Callie into trouble.

Like when they were in the same lab last semester, and Arizona would purposely trail her fingers across the top of Callie's back and along her shoulders. It drove her insane. She would be focused on work, and then Arizona would walk by, her fingers skimming across her skin, and soon an incessant throbbing would fill the brunette's senses, rendering her useless. She didn't even know that her shoulders were a sensitive spot, but just like every other erogenous zone on her body, Arizona had found it.

The blonde thrust her body against Callie's, slamming her back into the door. Her fingers deftly undid the button of Callie's jeans, smiling devilishly as she teasingly snapped the elastic of Callie's panties against her caramel skin. "I've been waiting for this all day," she husked into the brunette's ear.

Callie smirked and spun them around, pushing Arizona against the door. She stripped the blonde's shirt from her body, before pulling off her own. She dipped her fingers just passed the waistband of Arizona's jeans, using the leverage to pull her girlfriend tightly against her and reclaim her lips. She walked them backwards towards Arizona's bed, and lifted the blonde up, onto the mattress. She undid the clasp on Arizona's bra, groaning as she cupped her full breasts. She backed away from her spot between Arizona's legs, feigning boredom.

"Where are you going?" Arizona demanded.

"Well I'm just so tired, and you know…we just had sex yesterday, so…"

"Oh shut up," the blonde laughed, pulling the Latina back down onto the bed, and discarding her bra. "I'll show you tired."

"Yes ma'am," Callie said with a chuckle, relaxing and just enjoying the happiness she shared with her girlfriend.

* * *

><p>"It's not us," Meredith slurred as she laid on the floor of Cristina's room. "It's them. Them and their stupid boy," she paused, "penises," she decided in her drunken state. "They didn't tell me they had a girlfriend; they gave absolutely no warning they were going to break up with you."<p>

Cristina groaned and opened the closet door, taking a sip out of the tequila bottle she'd stashed there. "It's not that Burke broke up with me; it's how he broke up with me, like it was business….like it was a business trans…like he's the boss of me!"

Meredith rolled over. "He is the boss of you…he's your professor."

Cristina shut her eyes and sighed out of frustration. "What's worse is that I care."

"I'm going to throw up again," Meredith said, pulling herself up off the floor and crawling towards the trashcan. She held her hair back and waited for the vomit. Cristina just pulled the closet door shut again and drank more tequila. Once the nausea passed, Meredith exhaled. "No, wait, false alarm."

Cristina kicked the door back open. "The problem is estrogen."

"No," the other woman corrected, "the problem is tequila."

"You know," the Korean woman continued, ignoring Meredith, "I used to be all business, and then he went and got me pregnant."

"With the stupid boy penis."

"He ruined me…I'm ruined. He turned me into this fat, stupid, pregnant girl."

"But you aren't pregnant anymore."

"So now, I'm just fat and stupid, thanks," Cristina sighed. "Estrogen," she muttered, the word coming out like a curse as she pulled the door closed again.

"Penises." The door opened and in walked Arizona and Callie. Meredith looked up, "penises, Arizona," she said, her words being directed by her finger.

"Estrogen, Callie," Cristina chimed in.

"Ok," the Latina said, grabbing her water bottle from the desk and running across the hall to the bathroom. She filled it with water, deciding that those two definitely needed to stop drinking. She hoped Arizona could contain them, so no one got busted for drinking. It was a Thursday, and most people at Olaf only drank on weekends. She reentered the room and handed the now full bottle to Meredith. "What'd I miss?"

Arizona nodded at Meredith, "well she confessed her love for Derek and then he didn't show up, and this one," she said, gesturing towards Cristina, "has been sleeping with Professor Burke."

"What?" Callie hissed.

"I feel empty," Meredith sighed drunkenly.

Arizona glanced at the trashcan, swallowing back a gag as she caught sight of the vomit. "Yeah…throwing up will do that to you."

"No, I feel empty."

"You're lucky," Cristina said, pulling the closet door shut again. "I feel pissed off."

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :)<p> 


	14. Hold My Heart

A/N at the bottom. Also side note: the original title of the chapter was Love on the Rocks, but that is the same as Chapter 8...so I had to change it to another Sara Bareilles song. Seriously...the number of chapters I've written with Sara Bareilles song titles has to be pretty ridiculous. Anyway...carry on.

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Hold my Heart<p>

Meredith blinked, trying to force herself to focus on the conversation happening in front of her. Everyone at the table laughed, smiled, and was just having a grand old time. Meredith, however, felt heavy. Her eyelids drooped, and her limbs felt like lead. Pressure pounded behind her eyes, making it hell to keep them open. They were dry, and Meredith figured she had no more tears to shed. As she looked down the table at the happy couple, however, a tear threatened to escape down her cheek.

She was sad.

Meredith was also angry. She wanted to take a pen and stab it into Derek's chest and then poke out Addision's stupid, uniquely colored eyes. Taking a deep breath, Meredith flicked her eyes toward her food. She took a bite of the eggs, chewed methodically, swallowed, and then plastered a smile on her face as she nodded along to what Teddy was rambling on about.

At least this year had one positive: she'd made excellent friends. She, Arizona, and Teddy were going to live together again, only this time it would be in a triple suite in Rand. Meredith wasn't thrilled about the location of the dorm (it was farther away and on the other side of campus from Hoyme), but Derek and Mark were spending their last year in Melby, and Rand was the best dorm farthest away from them.

A part of Meredith hated herself for making a decision such as her dorm in large part because of a guy, but the larger part that hated him, and was hurt by him won out over her emotional independence. She wasn't quite at the "fuck 'em, he can go to hell stage", but the more she saw him with Addison, the closer she got.

She turned her head down the table, and caught him staring at her. He looked over the top of his hand, which was doing cutesy things with Addison's, his blue eyes tempting her to just steal him away. She found the strength to look away, however, stealing her jaw and stabbing her eggs with a fork. He'd made his choice. He didn't get to make sad eyes at her in the middle of his stupid lovey, dovey moments with Addison.

WHO CHEATED ON HIM!

Meredith took a deep breath as she put the fork in her mouth. She only had a few more hours of this before she could get out of here. She'd decided to get out of Northfield, and actually go back to Boston and spend the summer with her mother. She'd gotten an internship working at a cancer research center in their lab, so she had that to look forward to. She would be in Boston, alone, with science. No distractions except the prospects of New York shopping and Broadway shows on the weekends. That was all she wanted.

"You're not listening to anything I'm saying, are you?" Teddy huffed across the table.

Meredith looked up, her apology written all over her face. "I'm sorry Teddy. I'm just a little distracted."

"It's ok," Teddy replied with a smile. "I understand completely. Look on the bright side, though. You only have a couple of hours left before you can at least take a break from all this mess."

"My thoughts exactly," Meredith answered with a smile.

Meredith and Teddy followed the rest of the group as they gathered their things to leave the Caf. Meredith wasn't quite paying attention, however, and she bumped into someone, sending her tray clattering to the floor. She blushed as the cafeteria burst into applause at her misfortune, and bent down to clean up her mess.

"I am so sorry," the guy into whom she must have stumbled said, quickly helping her to shovel the spilled items back onto her tray. "I can be such a klutz sometimes."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Meredith offered, a smile escaping in spite of her pouty mood. She couldn't help herself. The guy in front of her just exuded warmth. He had sandy hair, just the right amount of scruff, and sparkling cobalt eyes she could drown in. "I'm Meredith."

"Finn," he said with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Meredith."

"You too, Finn," Meredith answered as she stood. And she meant it too.

* * *

><p>Cristina flipped the card over and over in her hand as she walked along the pathway to Regents. She'd checked her mail this morning on a whim, and found this card from none other than Preston Burke. She was apparently being summoned to see him before she left, which left a window of about thirty minutes before she jetted off to California for the summer. She didn't know what this was about, but she had a guess. Cristina had been less than kind during the remainder of the school year. After he'd dumped her in her own hospital room from nearly bleeding out, she'd been livid. She was hurt too, but mostly just pissed. She didn't hide it either, which caused some discomfort in a couple of classes, but Burke just chalked it up to grade sensitivity. Also bullshit, because Cristina made that class her bitch. She had an A, without the curve. In fact, she had done so well, that Burke took her out of the equation when he calculated the curve, otherwise pretty much everyone else would fail. Well, Meredith wouldn't have, but she was the exception.<p>

Cristina pushed open the door to Regents, which was oddly quiet. Most everyone had already gone home. The only people still around were those who had finals today, and people who were working Reunion and Celebration weekends. Cristina cursed herself as her heart pounded in her chest. She was getting nervous; Burke made her nervous. She hated being nervous, it only made her feel weak. And Cristina Yang was anything but weak.

She lifted her hand to knock on the propped open door.

"You don't need to knock, Cristina," Burke said from his chair.

The Korean woman opened the door just enough to slide through, and calmly shut it behind her. "You wanted to see me about my exam?"

"Yes," Burke smiled. "You did quite well."

"Yes I know." Cristina shrugged. She wasn't being arrogant; she just knew when she did (or didn't…though that was rare) well on a test or exam.

"I'm glad that's out of the way," Burke said, his eyes perusing his student's body. "I wanted to apologize for what happened in the hospital. I know I hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me," Cristina interjected.

Burke looked at her with a hint of pity appearing in his otherwise mischievous, brown eyes. "Ok," he said simply. "Well anyway, I had a moment of panic, but I don't want you to think that I have no feelings for you. Quite the opposite is true," he confessed. "I know you're getting ready to leave for the summer, but I was hoping we could revisit this when you get back. I miss you Cristina, and I know you miss me."

Cristina's eyes flitted to Burke's shirt which conveniently tightened right across his chest. She knew this was stupid, reckless, and that he _had_hurt her, but she didn't care. Not in this moment anyway. She flipped the lock on the door, lifted her shirt over her head, and dropped it on the floor. "I've got twenty minutes."

* * *

><p>"You don't have to go," Arizona pouted. "I'll let you squat in my room for the next week or so."<p>

Callie smiled at the offer, how could she not? "You know I can't. I have to be home for at least a little bit."

"But I'll see you in New York in a few weeks?" the blonde questioned.

"Yes you will," the Latina answered, dropping a kiss on her lover's waiting lips. "I'm excited for that by the way."

"I'm still shocked my father said it was ok that I go."

"Me too honestly," Callie responded. "I'm not going to ask any questions though," she said, zipping her bag closed. She and Arizona had worked out a trip for the two of them to New York in the middle of June. It was probably the only time they would get to see each other, and avoiding families was priority one. Callie didn't want to deal with the stress of visiting Washington, nor did she want her father to ask questions. As a big campaign donor to the Robbins campaign, there would be no doubt that he would know what Arizona looked like and would recognize her as the daughter of the president. Honestly, Callie thought that could be a good thing, and would only strengthen her father's willingness to give to the Robbins campaign, but the president didn't see it that way. And frankly, Callie was not going to argue with him. "It'll be fun."

"You better take me to a bunch of Broadway shows," Arizona teased, looping her arms around Callie's neck.

Arizona frowned as she looked into her girlfriend's eyes. "I'm going to miss you," she confessed, "like really miss you."

Callie pulled the blonde close, tightening her grip around her waist. This was weird. Callie had never felt so sad at the prospect of leaving someone. She and Arizona hadn't been together the whole year, but it felt like it. The intimacy she shared with the blonde was unlike anything she had ever shared with another person before her. Their bond was full of tenderness, care, and love. Even though they fought every now and then, Callie knew they would be better. She couldn't wait for their time in New York. They would be free of the burden of secrecy and could just be themselves. The prospect was exciting. The waiting and the lonliness, however, not so much. "I'm going to miss you too."

"Promise to call?"

"Every day," Callie whispered, dropping a kiss onto Arizona's lips. "I'll even text you too."

"You better!" Arizona said with a giggle. Her emotion, however, began to get the best of her and the laugh turned into a sniffle. "Promise not to meet some hot babe in Miami?"

"I've only got eyes for one hot babe, and that's you," the Latina assured Arizona. She dipped her head and captured the blonde's lips with her own, pouring every emotion she had into the kiss. Usually, especially lately, their kisses were fueled with a need that was sexually driven. This, however, was purely emotional, and Callie felt every bit of it. She sighed into the kiss, her hands tightening their grip on Arizona's hips as the blonde's tongue dipped into her mouth. Callie surrendered herself to the feel of the woman in her arms. She drank in her scent, felt the contours of her gentle curves, and shivered at the touch of her tongue against her own. Callie wanted to memorize this moment and hold onto it forever.

Arizona slowly ended the kiss, resting her forehead against Callie's. Her eyes welled with tears as she buried her head in the crook of the Latina's neck. She softly pressed her lips against the soft skin, leaving a trail of kisses up her neck, and along her jaw, before stealing a proper, tender kiss. "I love you," Arizona whispered against the brunette's lips.

"I love you too," Callie answered, stepping out of their embrace. "I have to go. The bus leaves soon," she said sadly, her hand gripping the handle of her suitcase. "I'll call you when I land."

"And text me the whole bus ride," Arizona reminded, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Yes," the Latina laughed, "and text you the whole bus ride."

"I'll see you soon."

"Yes you will," Callie smiled. "One more for the road?"

"I thought you'd never ask," the blonde answered, throwing her arms around Callie's neck and crashing their lips together.  
>"I don't want to go," Callie panted, breathless after the kiss.<p>

"I don't want you to go," Arizona said, "but you have to."

"I know," Callie agreed. "Good…"

"Shhh!" Arizona exclaimed, putting her hand over Callie's. "This is not goodbye!"

"Ok then what is it?"

"It's a see you later."

"Ok, then," Callie chuckled. "Later alligator."

Arizona tilted her head and smirked. "After a while crocodile."

Callie gingerly kissed Arizona on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," the blonde returned. "Now get out of here before I don't let you leave."

The Latina laughed and headed towards the door. She kept her eyes forward, not daring to take a peak back at her girlfriend. It was hard enough to leave already; she didn't need to see the sad look in Arizona's eyes. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and slid out of the room.

Arizona collapsed onto her futon, tears streaming down her cheeks. She'd been able to hold it together just long enough. She wasn't prepared for the amount of emotion she felt at the prospect of being separated from Callie for the summer. Normally, she steeled herself from such situations by not even thinking about any sort of long distance relationship. She didn't believe in them. But this was different. It was just summer; the core of their relationship existed together, so she could do it. God, these next few months were going to suck. At least she had New York to look forward to. And she had plenty of stuff to keep her busy in Washington. She'd received an internship at a hospital, shadowing a PEDs surgeon. Who knew, that could be her future career. She just wished she had been more prepared for what she was currently feeling. Summer had come fast, and it was calling her name.

She just wasn't ready to hear it.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, that wraps up freshman year. I apologize for the shortness of the update, it was just the wrap up of the first part of the story. I'm actually surprised I managed to get over 2000 words, I was predicting closer to 1500. Anyway, I want to thank you for sticking with me this far. I am loving writing this story, and feel I have really begun to delve into the storyline and plot. These first 14 chapters are, in a way, the introduction to the meat of the story which is about to begin. I apologize if it has seemed choppy in places; it's actually really difficult to write. Anyway, I truly hope you stick with me until the end. It's about to get a little crazy. I always love to hear your thoughts, and will reply back as per usual.

Thank you so much for reading,

~KB~


	15. Goodbye

To those of you kind enough to read my fiction,

It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to leave . This place has been my home for close to two years, but as many of you know it has become less than friendly over the past year or so. From people flaming fics to the now very apparent purge that seems to have leaked into our fandom, I feel that I can no longer post here. My move is one that has been long coming, and I will be moving every single story of mine to the Calzona LJ community (half are already there). I realize that this is a terrible inconvenience to many of you, and for that I deeply apologize. I will not remove my fics from this site…but they will no longer be updated. Though I am not particularly known for "smut" writing, I just cannot continue to post here amidst the drama, controversy, and at times hate. If you have not done so, please feel free to copy my stories for your own enjoyment. For those of you that cannot easily access LJ (country reasons maybe), or for whom that format is not particularly enjoyable, please email me at g,m,a,i, . I will be keeping a list and am more than willing to email out chapters as they are written.

I want to thank all of you so much for taking time out of your days to read my silly stories. You are all amazing and have given me more than I could ask. I hope you will continue to read my stories at LJ. I will maintain my account and will answer PMs, emails, and any questions you leave in review format. If ever goes back to the way it was two years ago, then I will consider coming back, but right now, this seems to be the best option. I am not naïve enough to think that this is some grandiose gesture of resistance; it is simply the best choice for me right now. I am not arrogant to think it is anything more than that.

Keep smilin'

All my best,

~KB~


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